New plant-derived drug may help fight multiple sclerosis

Melbourne: Scientists have found a new plant-derived drug that can block the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), a breakthrough that may help prevent and treat the autoimmune disease that affects millions globally.

"This is a really exciting discovery because it may offer a whole new quality of life for people with this debilitating disease," said Christian Gruber, University of Queensland in Australia. The new drug is expected to be taken by mouth, in
contrast to some current multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments where patients need to have frequent injections.

MS is a chronic incurable condition marked by attacks that bring gradual deterioration in the patient's health. About 2.5 million are affected worldwide.
Gruber said the new drug - named T20K - was extracted from a traditional medicinal plant, the Oldenlandia affinis. The drug treatment had been successful in an animal model, and patent applications filed in several countries.

"Phase one clinical trials could begin as early as 2018," Gruber said. He said the new treatment arose from a synthesised plant peptide, a class of drugs known as cyclotides. "Cyclotides are present in a range of common plants, and they show significant potential for the treatment of auto immune diseases," he said.

"The T20K peptides exhibit extraordinary stability and chemical features that are ideally what you want in an oral drug candidate," he added. The international research team demonstrated in an animal model that T20K stopped progression in the normal clinical symptoms of MS. The findings were published in the journal PNAS.