Xanthus Presents Preclinical Data Demonstrating Potent Symadex Activity in Leukemia Cells

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 11, 2006 - Xanthus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held oncology drug development company, today announced the presentation of data from preclinical studies in which Symadex(TM) (C-1311) demonstrated potent in vitro and in vivo activity against leukemia cells. The presentation was made in a poster session at the American Society of Hematology 48th Annual Meeting and Exposition in Orlando, Florida.

Researchers from Xanthus and the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, previously identified Symadex as a potent and selective inhibitor of the FLT3 receptor tyrosine kinase, in addition to its topoisomerase II activity. In the preclinical studies being discussed here, Symadex was examined in acute myeloid and lymphoid leukemia cell lines and was found to be active, especially in those expressing FLT3. This finding was further supported by data observed from in vivo studies. The data was presented on Sunday, December 10th in the Leukemias: Biology, Cytogenetics, and Molecular Markers in Diagnosis and Prognosis: AML session in a poster titled, "Imidazoacridinones are Bifunctional Targeting Agents Active in Leukemia Cells."


"These new data provide further support for our strategy to initiate a leukemia-focused clinical development program for Symadex," stated Robert L. Capizzi, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Xanthus. "The dual function of Symadex may be the reason why we saw more potent activity in the FLT3 expressing cell lines, suggesting that Symadex or other novel imidazoacridinones in our portfolio may be useful for a variety of hematological malignancies and other tumor types."

About Symadex(TM)

Symadex (formerly C-1311) is the lead compound in clinical development from a new series of agents, the imidazoacridinones, and in vitro have shown it to be a potent and selective FLT3 receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Symadex is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials in oncology. Xanthus is also exploring the use of Symadex for the treatment of a number of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, where early preclinical data has shown encouraging signs of activity. Xanthus licensed intellectual property related to Symadex from BTG International, Ltd.

About Xanthus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Xanthus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is developing a portfolio of novel, clinical-stage, small-molecule oncology candidates through a management team whose accomplished track record encompasses all aspects of drug development, from discovery through regulatory approval and commercialization. The Company is applying its expertise both to advance its current pipeline and expand it into indications of unmet medical need beyond oncology.

Xanthus is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts with an additional facility in Montreal, Quebec. More information is available at www.xanthus.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Xanthus that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words, "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "estimates," "intends," "should," "could," "will," "may," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Xanthus' actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including risks as to whether results obtained in early clinical studies or in preclinical studies such as the studies referred to above will be indicative of results obtained in future clinical trials or warrant additional trials; whether products based on Xanthus' technology will advance through the clinical trial process and receive approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies; whether the company will have the cash resources to develop and commercialize its products; and whether the patent and patent applications owned or licensed by Xanthus will protect the Company's technology and prevent others from infringing it. Xanthus disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Contact

MacDougall Biomedical Communications, Inc.
Kari Watson, 508-647-0209
kwatson@macbiocom.com
or
Xanthus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Lisa Terry, 617-225-0522, x 105
lisa.terry@xanthus.com

Fla. Court Rejects Disabled Man's Appeal

Friday December 8, 2006 12:01 AM

By MITCH STACY

Associated Press Writer

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A disabled man who said he needed vast amounts of prescription drugs to control pain is a drug trafficker in the eyes of the law and has to serve at least 25 years in prison, an appeals court has ruled.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal expressed sympathy for Richard Paey, whose story was featured on the ``60 Minutes'' TV program and in other national media earlier this year. His argument that he doesn't deserve the long sentence ``does not fall on deaf ears, but it falls on the wrong ears,'' court said.

In its 2-1 opinion handed down Wednesday, the court suggested that Paey ask Gov. Jeb Bush to commute it.

Paey's attorney, John Flannery, said Thursday he immediately wrote to Bush's office. Bush spokesman Anthony DeLuise said the office has received more than 100 letters on Paey's behalf but hadn't yet received any clemency request.

Paey, 48, severely injured his back in a 1985 car accident, has multiple sclerosis, and uses a wheelchair. The father of three was sentenced in 2004 on drug trafficking and other charges to a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years.

Prosecutors said he was forging prescriptions and getting hundreds of pills that he had to be selling them, even though they had no evidence to support their claims. At one point, they said he got 800 Oxycodone pills in a month-and-a-half time.

In a dissenting opinion, Associate Judge James H. Seals said took issue with Paey's prosecution, saying ``the State decided to bring out the artillery designed to bring down the drug cartels.''

State Attorney Bernie McCabe said Thursday that he made multiple plea offers to Paey that didn't involve him going to prison. Paey's wife has said he had rejected offers because he didn't want to be branded a drug trafficker.

Acorda Therapeutics Provides Update on Clinical Development of Fampridine-SR

HAWTHORNE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 8, 2006--Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.(R) (Nasdaq: ACOR) today confirmed that, based on feedback it received in a meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it will design and conduct an additional Phase 3 trial of Fampridine-SR in people with MS. Consistent with that meeting, the company expects to discuss with the FDA a study of the same or shorter duration as its MS-F203 study with a single criterion for efficacy, a consistent response on the Timed 25 Foot Walk.

In September 2006, the Company announced the results of its recent Phase 3 study, MS-F203, which was based on a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) from the FDA. The FDA indicated that, while this would require confirmation in a New Drug Application (NDA) filing, the criteria for the SPA appear to have been met. Typically, the FDA requires two adequate and well-controlled studies, each convincing on its own, to establish substantial evidence of effectiveness.

Based on the discussion, Acorda also plans to execute a QT study in accordance with the FDA's October 2005 guidance, "Clinical Evaluation of QT/QTc Interval Prolongation and Proarrhythmic Potential for Non-Antiarrhythmic Drugs". The Company will continue to consult with the FDA on protocol development for both of these studies and any additional requirements that might be needed.

About Acorda Therapeutics

Acorda Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing therapies for SCI, MS and related nervous system disorders. The Company's marketed products include Zanaflex Capsules(TM) (tizanidine hydrochloride), a short-acting drug for the management of spasticity. For full prescribing information, please go to www.zanaflexcapsules.com. Acorda's lead clinical stage product, Fampridine-SR, recently completed a Phase 3 study in people with MS. The Company's pipeline includes a number of products in development for the treatment, regeneration and repair of the spinal cord and brain.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, regarding management's expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects should be considered forward-looking. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including Acorda Therapeutics' ability to successfully market and sell Zanaflex Capsules, the risk of unfavorable results from future studies of Fampridine-SR, delays in obtaining or failure to obtain FDA approval of Fampridine-SR, competition, the ability to obtain additional financing to support Acorda Therapeutics' operations, unfavorable results from its preclinical programs, and failure to protect its intellectual property or to defend against the intellectual property claims of others. These and other risks are described in greater detail in Acorda Therapeutics' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Acorda Therapeutics may not actually achieve the goals or plans described in its forward-looking statements, and investors should not place undue reliance on these statements. Acorda Therapeutics disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.


CONTACT: Acorda Therapeutics
Tierney Saccavino, 914-347-4300 ext. 104
tsaccavino@acorda.com

SOURCE: Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.

Researchers Find Extensive Repair of Myelin in Brains of

December 1, 2006

A study by an international team of collaborators funded in part by the National MS Society suggests that a substantial amount of natural repair can occur to the myelin coating that insulates and protects nerve fibers in the brain and which is damaged by immune forces in people with MS. While previous studies had shown that natural myelin repair occurs in people with MS, this study found evidence of myelin repair, or “remyelination,” in a proportion of patients’ tissues across most types and stages of multiple sclerosis.

The study, published early online in the journal Brain (doi: 10.1093/brain/awl217; slated for December 2006 publication), was conducted by Drs. Peter Patrikios and Hans Lassmann (Medical University of Vienna) and was financed by the National Institutes of Health and the European Union, with additional support from the National MS Society’s “MS Lesion Project” led by Dr. Claudia Lucchinetti (Mayo Clinic).

The investigators examined autopsied brain tissues from 51 people who’d had MS in their lifetimes, including individuals with relapsing-remitting MS, secondary-progressive MS, primary-progressive MS and some with an unknown clinical course. Regions showing past or current disease activity, or lesions, were analyzed for signs of myelin damage (“plaques”) and repair (“shadow plaques”) using a variety of microscopic, staining and labeling techniques.

In about 20 percent of patients’ brains studied, remyelination was extensive, not only in those with the more common relapsing course, but also in those with progressive disease. The investigators found that the amount of remyelination ranged from sparse to nearly complete repair. Longer disease duration and older age at death were associated with more extensive remyelination. No link was found between the extent of repair and the age at onset, gender or type of MS.

When myelin is damaged, messages being sent along the underlying nerve fibers can misfire or be lost. Remyelination of nerve fibers is thought to restore function and also protect them from damage. Further research is required to uncover factors that determine why some individuals show highly efficient myelin repair while others do not. The investigators emphasize that their findings of variable rates of remyelination should be factored into the design of future clinical trials aimed at stimulating myelin repair.

-- Research and Clinical Programs Department

2006 - A Very Good Year in MS Research

Posted on : Thu, 07 Dec 2006 13:06:01 GMT | Author : The National MS Society
News Category : PressRelease

NEW YORK, Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- During 2006, rapid research progress was made in the fields of science and medicine that impact understanding and treatment of multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable neurological disease. The National MS Society invested over $42 million this year to support more than 350 new and ongoing MS research projects as part of its international efforts around collaborative and cutting-edge research.

Significant advances have been made in both clinical and laboratory studies in MS. In addition, more than 130 clinical trials are underway around the world, and still other experimental drugs are in the pipeline. Key highlights of the year include:

* Acorda Therapeutics (Hawthorne, NY) announced positive results of a Phase 3, placebo-controlled clinical trial of Fampridine-SR, an oral drug designed to provide symptomatic relief by compensating for lost nerve conduction. In 301 patients with all types of MS, those on active treatment showed an average increase in walking speed of 25% versus those on inactive placebo. The company is expected to meet with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine next steps needed to apply for marketing approval.

* The FDA approved the return to market of Tysabri(R) (natalizumab, produced by Biogen Idec and Elan Pharmaceuticals) to delay the accumulation of physical disability and reduce the frequency of relapses (clinical exacerbations) in those with relapsing MS. There is now in place a mandatory registration program for patients and prescribing physicians to minimize the risk of PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy), caused by a common virus called the JC virus. The drug is dispensed at registered infusion centers across the country. Since Tysabri's return to market last summer, there have been no new cases of PML reported.

* Members of the four Nervous System Repair teams from Europe and the U.S. met to share progress being made in the Society funded Promise: 2010 initiative. The first clinical trials focused on protecting the nervous system will begin shortly, and trials aimed at repairing damage and restoring function in people with MS are expected to begin within the next five years.

* In a first, Johns Hopkins University researchers reported that nerve cells derived from mouse embryonic stem cells that were transplanted into rats with spinal cord injury were able to connect with muscles and partially restore function. While this work was done in a model of spinal cord injury, it bears relevance to the potential use of cell replacement to repair damage in MS.

* The Society will be sponsoring the first ever stem cell summit January 16-19 in San Francisco to explore the potential of the complete spectrum of stem cell options as they might relate to MS research and treatment. The by-invitation only meeting will bring together some 60 renowned scientists from around the world to examine stem cell prospects and strategies in MS. The results of this meeting are expected to set research directions and priorities to best determine the potential of all types of stem cells for treating this disease.

* Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles reported that administering Androgel(R) (testosterone gel applied to the skin) to 10 men with relapsing-remitting MS significantly improved cognitive function and slowed brain tissue loss. This study was funded by the Society's initiative on Gender Differences in MS and is expected to lead to additional research involving larger numbers of patients to confirm these early results.

* In another offshoot from the Society's initiative on Gender Differences, UCLA investigators began the first large-scale trial of a sex hormone for the treatment of MS. The two-year, controlled clinical trial of estriol involves 130 women with early relapsing-remitting MS. If successful, this clinical trial will lay the groundwork for a larger, definitive trial that could lead to a new treatment option for women with MS. Its results may also have implications for women with other autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

* Several oral MS therapies continued to progress through the pipeline: -- a phase II controlled clinical trial of oral fingolimod (FTY720, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.) in 255 people with active, relapsing MS found that up to 77% of those taking fingolimod remained free of relapses over two years; a large phase III trial is now underway; -- oral cladribine (an immune-modulating drug by Serono), now being tested in an international Phase 3 clinical trial, has been designated by the FDA as a "Fast Track Product," which should expedite its future review; -- a multicenter, phase II controlled clinical trial of oral BG00012 (an oral fumarate, Biogen Idec) led to a 69% reduction in active inflammation on MRI scans in 257 people with relapsing-remitting MS; -- in an open-label, 144-week extension study of oral teriflunomide (an agent that may modulate T cells), those on placebo during the original trial who switched to teriflunomide experienced up to an 85% decrease in new, active areas of disease activity seen on MRI at week 144.

* Harvard investigators reported that individuals who showed signs of significant exposure to the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes infectious mononucleosis and other disorders, were twice as likely to develop MS up to 20 years later. The study, funded in part by a grant from the National MS Society, adds to previous evidence linking the virus to the risk of developing MS, but does not prove that EBV actually causes MS. Other recent studies have suggested that smoking cigarettes may contribute to the risk of MS and MS progression, and that higher vitamin D intake may help protect against developing MS.

* For the first time, the needs of children who develop MS-like symptoms are being addressed through the Society's nationwide network of comprehensive Pediatric MS Centers of Excellence, launched early this year. The 6 centers have committed to sharing critical resources and best practices such as MRI protocols and neuropsychological evaluations so that all families can benefit from the collective knowledge of the entire network. In addition to providing optimal care and support, these centers will build a framework for research into this patient population, which may also provide clues to adult MS.

* Two genes that may contribute to making a person susceptible to developing MS have been identified by a group of European researchers known as the "GAMES" Collaborative Group. MS involves an immune-system attack on the body's own brain and spinal cord, and many genes are thought to contribute to susceptibility. The two candidate genes were singled out because they encode for a brain tissue component and an immune component. This work was supported in part by the National MS Society.

* Researchers at Stanford University have uncovered evidence they believe may explain the role of a protein, osteopontin, in stimulating repeated relapses and disease progression as well as inhibiting spontaneous recovery from symptoms. This research, sponsored in part by the Society, could lead to new therapeutic approaches that target oseopontin's effect in the MS disease process.

* The National MS Society launched a new postdoctoral fellowship program in MS rehabilitation research. The immediate goal is to recruit and train talented clinician-scientists in rehabilitation research specific to MS; the ultimate goal is to get more hands and minds working on ways to help people with MS maximize their abilities.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body and stops people from moving. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.5 million worldwide.


Copyright © 2006 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.

BioMS Medical's Pivotal Multiple Sclerosis Trial Receives Sixth Positive Review from Data Safety Monitoring Board

Toronto Stock Exchange Symbol: MS

EDMONTON, Alberta, Dec. 7, 2006 /CNW/ - BioMS Medical Corp. (TSX: MS), a leading developer in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), today announced that following the sixth meeting of the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), the Company has received a recommendation to continue its pivotal phase II/III clinical trial for MBP8298 for the treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.

This was the sixth of several regularly scheduled reviews by the DSMB that will occur over the duration of the trial. The purpose of the DSMB is to provide objective, independent safety monitoring of the trial. The pivotal phase II/III study is now ongoing at trial sites across Canada and Europe.

About BioMS Medical Corp.
-------------------------
BioMS Medical is a biotechnology company engaged in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic technologies. BioMS Medical's lead technology, MBP8298, is for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and is currently in a pivotal phase II/III clinical trial across Canada and Europe.
For further information please visit our website at www.biomsmedical.com.

This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of BioMS Medical with respect to its performance, business and future events. Such statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results and events may vary significantly.


For further information: Tony Hesby, Ryan Giese, Corporate
Communications, BioMS Medical Corp., (780) 413-7152, (780) 408-3040 Fax,
E-mail: rgiese@biomsmedical.com, Internet: www.biomsmedical.com; Mr. Barry
Mire, Investor Relations, (514) 939-3989, E-mail: bmire@renmarkfinancial.com;
James Smith, Investor Relations, (416) 815-0700 ext. 229, (416) 815-0080 Fax,
E-mail: jsmith@equicomgroup.com/

New body to assess high-risk drug trials

Staff and agencies
Thursday December 7, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

An advisory body is to be established to assess high-risk drug trials, meeting one of 22 recommendations made today by experts who investigated a trial that left six men seriously ill in March.

However, a lawyer for some of the victims of the trial at Northwick Park hospital, north London, said his clients felt the report by the panel of scientists was yet another "whitewash".

The panel, set up by the health secretary Patricia Hewitt, made the recommendations to tighten procedures after volunteers who were given an experimental drug suffered organ failure.

Led by Professor Gordon Duff, the group recommended that the government's medicines watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), should take additional advice from independent experts when deciding whether to approve trials. It also advocated the introduction of measures intended to ensure danger signs were not missed in the run-up to future trials.

The Department of Health later said an expert advisory body would be established in the New Year to assess clinical studies of high-risk substances. The pharmaceutical industry's own guidelines on the conduct of patient trials were also being revised.

The MHRA has been accused of being too lax in its decision to approve the trial of the drug TGN 1412, which left one of the six volunteers looking like "the elephant man" after his head swelled up. Another volunteer lost parts of his fingers and toes through a reaction similar to frost bite.

TGN 1412, developed by the German biotechnology company TeGenero, was designed to treat rheumatoid arthritis, leukaemia and multiple sclerosis.

It was meant to subtly "re-tune" the immune system, but instead the trial in March provoked an adverse immune reaction.

Prof Duff said he was confident the recommendations, if adopted, would make another such tragedy unlikely.

"With any first exposure to any new medicine there is always some risk involved, even if it may be small," he said. "The important thing is to minimise that risk and manage that risk in the most appropriate ways. I think our 22 recommendations speak to these topics and if they are taken up, future clinical trials will be safer."

Martyn Day, the solicitor for four of the six victims, said his clients were "very disappointed" with the report.

"They feel it is simply the latest in a series of whitewashes," he said. "Following the terrible events of March 13 they have looked for three things to happen: an in-depth review of what exactly happened and what went wrong, an analysis of the lessons to be learnt to ensure that this never happens again to ensure what they went through is never repeated, and finally, to ensure their futures are secure financially if any of the very worrying forecasts come true.

"The Duff report has done a good job at looking at the lessons to be learnt but it does nothing in terms of helping my clients understand the detail of exactly what happened and what went wrong."

Mr Day said his clients planned to sue Parexel, the drug company that administered the trial, unless it promised them financial help to cope with any illness arising from the trial.

He added: "What is terribly disappointing about today's report is that it helps my clients not one jot. They are basically left to have the fight with Parexel alone. Depressing as this is for them, my clients are determined to continue, to get justice for what they have been put through."

Key elements of the report focus on the need for independent scientific advice before high-risk trials get the go-ahead, and the sharing of safety-related information. It also calls for data from unpublished or abandoned clinical trials which may have discovered adverse reactions to be shared freely and kept on a database.

The DoH said measures had been taken to improve the sharing of information between the MHRA and research ethics committees, which vet trial applications at a local level.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said its guidelines for drug companies on the conduct of clinical trials were being revised following the recommendations.

However no mention was made of the sharing of possibly sensitive information about experimental drug agents.

FOOL'S GOLD RUSH IN CALIFORNIA

Californians were promised wonder cures if they passed Proposition 71 to fund stem-cell research in 2004. Turns out they have bought a $3 billion jug of snake oil, says Investor's Business Daily (IBD).

With the hype over, the scientists involved in the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine now admit they may not find cures over 10 years for even one of the diseases like autism, AIDS, Lou Gehrig's disease, lupus and multiple sclerosis that stem-cell activists had insisted a $3 billion state institute would find cures for.

"Gone are the allusions to healing such afflictions such as spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases that dominated the 2004 campaign for Proposition 71 in 2004," the Los Angeles Times noted.

Not only were California's voters promised cures, they were also promised lower medical bills for their $3 billion "solution," unfortunately, Californians' average medical bills are still rising, coming in 7.7 percent higher in 2006 over 2005, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Additionally:

The medical groups who bucked hardest for the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act are making plenty of money off it, not just from grants, like the $150 million loan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger fronted for their favorite research institutions to skirt taxpayer suits, but also for the golden opportunity to buy California bonds to finance it.

The total cost of this state research institute for Californians won't be just $3 billion, but $6 billion, over 10 years, due to interest costs from the bonds issued, according to the California state legislative analyst.

The only people who get nothing out of this $3 billion boondoggle are the California taxpayers who are writing the checks, and the medical patients who have been sold a bill of goods by stem-cell activists about sure-thing medical cures from public, instead of private, funding, says IBD.

Source: Editorial, "Fool's Gold Rush In California," Investor's Business Daily, December 6, 2005.

For text (subscription required):

http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=250215194824086

For more on Health Issues:

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=16

Avigen Completes Phase I Trial for AV650, an Oral Treatment for Neuromuscular Spasm and Spasticity

Phase I Study Includes Lack of Sedation Testing for AV650

ALAMEDA, Calif., Dec. 6, 2006 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Avigen, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVGN) today announced findings from a Phase I clinical trial for AV650 (tolperisone), an oral therapy intended for the treatment of disabling neuromuscular spasticity and spasm. AV650, a New Chemical Entity (NCE) in the U.S., was found to be well tolerated with no evidence of sedation in this trial.

The Phase I study enrolled 30 healthy adult volunteers at one center in the U.S. The double blind, placebo-controlled ascending dose study was designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics, in both fasted and fed individuals, of AV650. In this eight-day study, volunteers were randomized to receive either ascending doses of AV650 up to 450mg/day, or placebo. There were no dose-limiting or dose-related increases in adverse events. Reported adverse events were generally mild in intensity and similar to those previously reported for tolperisone. In addition, there were no drug-related laboratory abnormalities or clinically important changes in cardiovascular parameters. A unique aspect of this study was the assessment of sedation with AV650 utilizing both the CALCAP and VAS. CALCAP is a battery of computerized measures designed to assess sedation and cognitive function, including reaction times, visual discrimination, short-term memory, and attention. The VAS measures a subject's subjective assessment of sedation. Together, the initial findings in this study indicated no significant difference from placebo.

Data from the clinical trial will be submitted for presentation at an upcoming medical meeting.

"We are pleased the results of this first study are consistent with the long-term safety experience with tolperisone and are encouraged with the initial assessment of non-sedation with AV650. Lack of sedation is an important differentiator for AV650, and we plan to continue to assess it in future trials," commented Avigen President and Chief Executive Officer, Kenneth Chahine, Ph.D, J.D. "We look forward to working with clinical investigators in the U.S. to explore further the safety and efficacy of AV650 as a potential non-sedative treatment option for patients with debilitating spasm and spasticity caused by neurological disorders."

AV650 is being developed in the North American market for the treatment of disabling neuromuscular spasticity and spasm under a license and supply agreement with Sanochemia Pharmazeutika AG. AV650 is an orally administered centrally acting small molecule marketed for the treatment of neuromuscular spasticity and spasm in Europe and Asia. Avigen's development program will build on the extensive ex-U.S. safety and efficacy experience with this compound.

About Neuromuscular Spasm and Spasticity

Chronic or recurrent muscle spasm is a sudden, violent, painful contraction of muscles typically associated with serious neurological disorders such as Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), multiple sclerosis, stroke, spinal cord injury, and cerebral palsy. These painful muscle spasms are often, but not always, associated with spasticity, an abnormality in muscle "tone." Spastic limbs become stiff and rigid because the muscles fail to relax, lacking normal regulation by the damaged nervous system. Both spasticity and sudden, painful muscle spasms can occur as complications of the neurological disorders mentioned above.

About Avigen

Avigen is a biopharmaceutical company focused on unique small molecule therapeutics and biologics to treat serious neurological disorders, including neuropathic pain and neuromuscular spasm and spasticity. Avigen's strategy is to complete the requirements of clinical development for each of the candidates in its product pipeline, and continue to look for opportunities to expand its pipeline through a combination of internal research, acquisitions and in-licensing, with the goal of becoming a fully integrated commercial biopharmaceutical company committed to its small molecule and biologics neurology products. The company is currently developing AV650 for spasticity and neuromuscular spasm and two candidates for neuropathic pain, AV411 and AV333. Additionally, the company is advancing toward clinical trials with a novel therapy for the treatment of multiple bleeding disorders, including hemophilia A and B, AV513. For more information about Avigen, consult the company's website at http://www.avigen.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including Avigen's belief that AV650 will differentiate itself from current agents by providing less sedation, that the AV650 Phase I clinical data will support an AV650 Phase II study, that Avigen may be able to initiate an AV650 Phase II study in early 2007, that Avigen will be able to expand its pipeline through internal research, acquisitions, and/or in-licensing, and its belief that it will be able to develop, commercialize or obtain value from its current drug candidates for any indication. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the fact that development of small molecule therapeutics and other therapeutic discovery and development is a time- and resource-intensive process, which may result in the expenditure of a significant amount of time and resources with no marketable product resulting from the effort. Other risks and uncertainties relating to Avigen are detailed in reports filed by Avigen with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Avigen's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2006, under the caption "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of Part 2 of that report, which was filed with the SEC on November 2, 2006.


CONTACT: Avigen, Inc. Michael Coffee, Chief Business Officer (510) 748-7372 Fax: +1-510-748-7384 ir@avigen.com http://www.avigen.com/ 1301 Harbor Bay Parkway Alameda, CA 94502

Sarasota's Roskamp Institute Announces Participation in Multiple Sclerosis Study

Roskamp Institute Looking for Volunteers for Multiple Sclerosis Research Study

SARASOTA, Fla., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Roskamp Institute announced today its participation in a pharmaceutical sponsored research study for relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis (MS) sufferers.

While the Roskamp Institute's primary focus is on Alzheimer's disease, Roskamp researchers have a significant interest in MS due to findings that suggest there are some captivating similarities when studying the immune system response in the brain of persons with Alzheimer's disease and MS.

"The white blood cells, also known as T-cells, contain a surface marker called CD40 that may play an important role in both Alzheimer's disease and MS," said Dr. Andrew Keegan, an investigator in Neurosciences at the Roskamp Institute's clinical trials division. "Our commitment to finding cures to neurodegenerative disorders, such as MS, has led us to participate in this study sponsored by Novartis that will examine the use of a new investigational drug called fingolimod."

Research scientists want to determine whether the investigational drug fingolimod, which is currently not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, can help people with relapsing-remitting MS. The study drug comes as capsules you take by swallowing once a day, and has been given by researchers to more than 2,300 people in studies that have included healthy people, patients with MS, and kidney transplant patients.

Fingolimod may act on certain types of white blood cells that are responsible for immune reactions. Researchers want to determine if the investigational drug makes these cells move away from areas of inflammation and redirects them toward lymph nodes and other places in the body where they rest. Scientific researchers believe these white blood cells play an
important role in the inflammation process associated with MS and this investigational oral medication may be able to help people with inflammation caused by MS.

"We are looking for volunteers to participate in this pharmaceutical sponsored research study to assess the effectiveness and safety of the investigational drug fingolimod, used to treat patients with relapsing- remitting MS," said Dr. Michael Mullan, director of the Roskamp Institute. "We hope by working with Novartis we may be able to provide our patients and their families with another treatment option."

To participate in the MS research study, please contact Dr. Andrew Keegan at (941) 256-8018. Eligible participants of the study will receive study related medical care as it relates to the research study (ie: physical exams, ECGs, MRI, labs, eye exam), study medication and possible compensation for time and travel. Participants must be between the ages of 18-to-55 years old, have relapsing-remitting MS, be ambulatory (some assisted devices allowed) and medically stable.

The Roskamp Institute is devoted to understanding causes of and finding cures for diseases of the mind like neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders and addictions. The Institute utilizes a broad range of scientific approaches to understanding the causes of and potential therapies for these disorders with an emphasis on Alzheimer's disease.

For more information please contact the Roskamp Institute in Sarasota (941) 256-8018, the Roskamp Institute Memory Center in Tampa (813) 979-2008, or visit us online at http://www.RoskampInstitute.com.


SOURCE Roskamp Institute

MS study: Silver lining in the cloud

It's disturbing enough that a four-year scientific study has verified a higher incidence of multiple sclerosis for Morrison than what is considered average. What's more disturbing is researchers with the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford do not know for sure why this is happening.

However, they have begun to eliminate possible causes, which is a cause for optimism.

For instance, it is encouraging that experts were unable to identify any environmental factors to explain why the risk for contracting the disease is elevated for Morrison area residents. In other words, you won't get multiple sclerosis by drinking the water, breathing the air and living on the land in and around the Whiteside County seat.

The study does indicate that women with a northern European background, such as Germany and the Netherlands, are more susceptible to contracting multiple sclerosis than the general population. With the community's strong Dutch and German roots, this could explain why Morrison has 21 confirmed cases of the disease or, according to experts, about 2 1/2 times the national average.

Some kind of genetic predisposition seems to be suggested by these results. According to researchers, 11 study participants had blood relatives who also were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

A suggestion by a study participant seems to have merit. She believes efforts must be intensified to create a registry for those who have the disease. This way, not only will family members have a better understanding of their potential risks, but researchers in the future may be able to use the information in new ways to pin down a cause.

It's a good idea for everyone to know their medical history, not just those from one community that has experienced a higher-than-usual incidence of a particular disease. We urge everyone to be more aware of their own family's medical history and use that information to manage their health. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. There are proactive steps that can be taken to prevent or cure certain ailments.

Unfortunately, multiple sclerosis isn't one of them. There is no cure at this point for the autoimmune disease that targets the body's nervous system, robbing a person of their muscle control, vision, balance and thinking ability.

That doesn't mean a cure will never be found. We congratulate researchers for the progress they have made so far. We urge them to continue pursuing not only the cause of multiple sclerosis but, more importantly, a cure.

4SC AG has received clinical trial approval by authorities and has started the clinical phase IIa study

04 Dec 2006

Announced today the beginning of a clinical phase IIa - study of drug candidate SC12267 for the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

PLANNEG, Germany | Dec 04, 2006 | The drug discovery and development company 4SC AG (Frankfurt, Prime standard: VSC) announced today the beginning of a clinical phase IIa - study of drug candidate SC12267 for the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. 4SC AG received the necessary approval by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, Germany (BfArM) as well as a positive ethics vote from the Medical Faculty of the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.

The study will take place at twelve centres in Germany, Poland and Serbia. The application process for Serbia and Poland is still under authority review.

"Approval for the phase IIa study on rheumatoid patients is an important step in our corporate development", remarked Ulrich Dauer, CEO of the 4SC AG. "With the beginning of this clinical study we have reached a very important milestone on the road to opening up the market potential of our drug candidate."

The participating physicians at centres in Germany are now beginning to recruit patients. Altogether, 120 patients afflicted with Rheumatoid Arthritis are included in the study. The study is randomised and placebo-controlled. SC12267 will undergo random testing using three groups of patients. Two groups will be administered different dosages of the substance; the third group will receive a placebo. An analgesic (paracetamol) will be administered to alleviate arthritis related pain, if required.

The goal of the study is to find the optimal dosage of the drug candidate and to examine its therapeutic potency and security. The results of this study are expected at the end of 2007.

"Quick clinical trial approval by the authorities to start our Phase IIa study is confirmation of the extraordinary achievement of our development team," stressed Gerhard Keilhauer, CDO (Executive Committee for Development) of 4SC AG. "With this step we are building a foundation for new and promising possibilities for treatment of serious autoimmune diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis."


Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic inflammatory joint disease that afflicts 0.5 - 1% of the population; women are three times more likely to get arthritis than men are. In the late stage of the disease, irreversible damage to joint cartilage and bones occurs. Causes of this disease are genetic as well as autoimmune factors. Besides pain-relieving medicines, so-called disease-modifying medicines (DMARDs = disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs) can be used in treatment. These drugs are used to induce a healing process.

They differ from other groups of drugs used in the treatment of rheumatoid diseases, since only they are able to stop or reduce damage caused from chronic inflammation to the joint cartilage or bone. In the most favourable cases, some DMARDs can also induce repair of damage to joints and provide support for the repair of changes that have already occurred.

SC12267
SC12267 is a new type of small molecular active agent from the class of DMARDs used for treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis. The substance works as a highly selective inhibitor in the biosynthesis of pyrimidine, which inhibits the proliferation of fast proliferating cells, in particular the important lymphocytes used for immune response.
The drug candidate originates in 4SC AG's own research pipeline. In prior pre-clinical and clinical studies, an outstanding potency and favourable pharmacokinetic characteristics could already be observed in animal testing, and a tolerable dosage without relevant side effects on test subjects was determined.


About 4SC AG
4SC AG (ISIN DE0005753818) has been listed in the Prime Standard of Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 15 December 2005. Founded in 1997 and now with a staff of 59, the company develops novel drug candidates for inflammatory diseases and cancer using a cheminformatics based technology platform. Traditional high throughput screening of therapeutic agents has been transferred from the lab to the computer. Thus, the company offers substantial cost and time advantages as well as increased success rates in drug development. 4SC AG uses its patented technology platform to create a sustainable product pipeline for active agents that are developed in early clinical phases ("proof of concept") and subsequently result in upfront and milestone payments as well as participation in sales generated by out-licensed products to the pharmaceutical industry. The pipeline currently has five projects, the first of which, on the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, has successfully completed clinical phase I. In addition the project pipeline contains three projects in pre-clinical stage as well as one project in discovery stage. Furthermore, the company has its technology platform in co-operation projects with biotech and pharma companies and is already generating initial revenues.


Legal note
This document may contain forecasts, estimates and assumptions concerning business plans and goals, products and services and future results or assumptions based on or relating to them. Any statements about the future are subject to risks and uncertainty that are not predictable and are beyond the control of 4SC AG. Many factors may cause the actual results to differ substantially from the results contained in such statements about the future.

SOURCE: 4SC AG

Schering confirms US lawsuit vs Novartis over MS drug Betaseron (Betaferon)

FRANKFURT (AFX) - Schering AG, which Bayer AG acquired this year, filed a suit in the US state of California last month alleging Novartis AG had breached certain clauses of a 1993 contract pertaining to the US production of multiple sclerosis medication Betaseron, a spokesman for Schering said.

The drug is known as Betaseron in the US, and Betaferon outside the US.

His comments came in reaction to a Financial Times Deutschland report which said Novartis (nyse: NVS - news - people ) AG and Bayer (nyse: BAY - news - people ) AG continue to disagree about the production of Betaseron for the US market even as they negotiate Bayer's future rights to the drug.

The Schering spokesman said the US suit is asking the court to order Novartis, parent of Chiron Corp, to implement certain clauses in a 1993 contract between Chiron and Schering relating to the transfer of Betaseron's US licensing rights back to Schering.

The spokesman said Schering owns Betaseron and under the 1993 contract, due to expire in 2008, Chiron produces the drug in the US on behalf of Schering.

The US complaint 'seeks specific performance of the portion of the 1993 agreement relating to transferring the Biologics License and Biologics License Application for Betaseron into the name of Schering,' he added.

He said separately from this complaint, Schering has been in talks with Chiron/Novartis since February 2006 regarding an option in the contract which Schering has exercised in order to allow the latter to acquire the assets needed to produce Betaseron in the US.

marilyn.gerlach@afxnews.com

mog/cmr

COPYRIGHT

Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved.

Little risk from mercury in amalgam fillings

By DR. MICHAEL T. ROSEN, Special to The News Journal
Posted Monday, December 4, 2006

Q: A friend of mine was recently told by his dentist that he should have all of his silver fillings removed. It was suggested that the mercury in the fillings was dangerous to his health, could cause all sorts of problems and the fillings should be replaced as soon as possible. Do you believe that silver fillings are dangerous?

A: I have my own feelings about silver or amalgam fillings (same things), but I spent a fair amount of time reviewing the scientific literature before answering your question. My answer is a mix of science and my own personal opinion.

Amalgam fillings are approximately a 50/50 mix of mercury and powdered metals (mostly silver). The mix has been used for more than 100 years. It has been shown to be relatively safe, long lasting, easy to use and very cost-effective.

Generally speaking, amalgam fillings are safe, or at least there are no credible studies that show they are harmful. There is, however, concern that the mercury in the fillings will be released into your body and cause health problems, including multiple sclerosis. But even The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has found no evidence to relate this disease to amalgam fillings.

If you're concerned, it is possible to have yourself tested for mercury exposure. Intra-oral tests are not supposed to be that accurate. Blood and hair-sample testing, available from your physician, is more diagnostic.

Based on my experience and my research, I wouldn't remove the fillings because of a potential health hazard. You are more likely to damage a tooth unnecessarily than you are to protect your health.

Having said that, I would steer away from using amalgam on potentially sensitive individuals like women who are pregnant or children. I usually replace amalgam fillings when teeth are cracked or broken, there is re-decay or when they just plain wear out.

Every once in a while a nervous patient will come in the door after receiving some scary mercury information. After an open discussion about the facts, I am more than happy to replace the amalgam with another material to relieve the patient's fears.

In my growing holistic view of life, I believe that as with environmental and seasonal allergies, medications and even foods, some people can be more sensitive to a given material than the majority of the population. I am not willing to simply accept the lack of harmful data as proof of safety. That, and the existence of what I believe to be better choices, has kept me from placing a silver filling for more years than I can count.

But I also see no reason to remove an amalgam filling simply because it is an amalgam filling. The patient's greatest exposure to the mercury is probably during the time that the fillings are placed and again when the fillings are removed. It makes sense to me that the longer the fillings are in a patient's mouth, the less the risk of mercury exposure there is.

Dr. Michael T. Rosen, a Wilmington dentist, writes this column for The News Journal. You may e-mail him questions at drmichaelrosen@aol.com or by going to www.drmichaelrosen.com. Personal replies are not possible.

Specialty drugs seen driving up premiums

Mass. health insurers say use rising rapidly
By Jeffrey Krasner, Globe Staff | December 4, 2006

The increasing use of expensive specialty drugs, including powerful treatments developed by Massachusetts biotechnology companies for rare diseases, is making health insurance more expensive for everyone, the state's major health insurers say.

The number of specialty drugs being developed is on the rise, and existing ones are being prescribed for a wider range of conditions. Some cost as much as $200,000 a year per patient.

"Virtually every health plan in the [United States] is focusing on these drugs as an emerging challenge," said Matthew Connell , senior director of pharmacy services for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state's largest health insurer with about 3 million members.

Last year, specialty drugs accounted for 5 percent -- or $450 million -- of Blue Cross's medical expenses . Nationwide, they accounted for 19 percent -- about $40 billion -- of pharmaceutical spending , according to Express Scripts, which manages prescription programs. By 2009, the figure is expected to reach $90 billion -- 28 percent of all drug expenditures in the United States.

The insurance industry describes specialty drugs as biotechnology treatments that involve genetic engineering, cancer medications that must be given to patients in doctors' offices or clinics, unique treatments for extremely rare diseases, and other high-cost remedies.

"The specialty-drug slice of the pie is growing fast. It's only about half of 1 percent of all pharmacy [prescriptions], but it accounts for as much as 13 percent of pharmacy costs," Connell said.

The sector is partly responsible for premium increases coming in January for members of Blue Cross, Tufts Health Plan, and Fallon Health Plan, according to insurance executives. Overall increases are expected to be between 8 percent and 13 percent. They have averaged more than 10 percent in each of the last seven years.

In the past, insurers have cited the rising price of traditional prescription drugs, higher costs from doctors, and high-tech imaging technology as reasons for premium increases. Until now, they have not included specialty drugs as a reason for the escalation.

"This has been a small part of overall pharmaceutical spending, but it's growing much more rapidly than the rest," said Paul B. Ginsburg , president of the Center for Studying Health System Change, a research organization. "People in the insurance business have been telling me for a couple of years that this is going to be one of the big drivers of premium increases in the future."

Health insurers have encouraged the use of generic drugs instead of more expensive name-brand treatments . In 2000, spending nationwide was up more than 15 percent, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In 2005, the increase was about 7 percent.

But government regulators generally do not approve generic versions of biotech treatments, and other specialty drugs are so new they are still under patent protection.

One specialty drug is Cerezyme , made by Genzyme Corp. and used to treat Gaucher disease. The genetic disorder causes enlarged internal organs and affects only about 4,500 people worldwide, but Cerezyme costs $200,000 annually for each patient. Last year, it generated sales of $932 million for the Cambridge biotechnology drug maker, and most of the cost was covered by insurance companies.

"These drugs are particularly challenging," said David Kreling , a professor of pharmacy marketing and economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Because they're biotech-sourced and have higher production costs and smaller markets, price per patient tends to be much higher than traditional drugs."

Dan Quinn, a Genzyme spokesman, said the company's products do not drive up healthcare costs overall. "It's such an incredibly small part of the spending, because the populations we treat are so small," he said. "If you look at the rarity of these diseases and the small number of people affected, it's not a major contributor to rising healthcare costs."

Neil Minkoff , medical director of network services and pharmacy at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, said that expenses related to specialty drugs are under control at his company, but that could change as more of the treatments are made available.

"The pipeline in these drugs is very, very rich," Minkoff said. "We see numbers that there will be more than 300 new biotech drugs out there by 2010."

Harvard Pilgrim delivers high-cost drugs directly to doctors' offices -- cutting out the mark-up of retail pharmacies -- and oversees patients to ensure they follow prescribed drug regimens closely. In addition, Minkoff said, Harvard Pilgrim works with a limited number of suppliers, so it can negotiate better prices.

But the prices of specialty drugs are rising faster than other treatments. For instance, Blue Cross said that last year it paid for 14,901 prescriptions for Enbrel in Massachusetts, at an average cost of $1,867. For the first six months of this year, that increased to 7,817 prescriptions at an average cost of $2,024. Enbrel, marketed by drug giants Amgen Inc. and Wyeth, is a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and other conditions.

Connell said that specialty drugs now account for 10 percent of Blue Cross' total drug costs. "On average, it's a much higher per-claim cost," he said.

Tufts seeks to control use of specialty drugs by requiring doctors to obtain permission before prescribing treatments. The insurer also forbids "off-label" use not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

"The specialty injectables are very good," said Dr. Allen J. Hinkle , chief medical officer of Tufts Health Plan. "We want our members to get them. But we need to figure out how to pay for these new, wonderful drugs."

Tim Hunt , a spokesman for Biogen Idec Inc., said the steep price of specialty drugs like the Cambridge company's multiple sclerosis treatments, Avonex and Tysabri, is justified. "Our patients crave relentless innovation, because they're dying," he said.

Jeffrey Krasner can be reached at krasner@globe.com.


© Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

Couple face trial for chocolate bars 'laced with cannabis' for MS sufferers

04.12.06

Smoke it or eat it: cannabis has well known health risks

A couple from Cumbria are to go on trial for allegedly supplying chocolate bars laced with cannabis to help relieve the pain of multiple sclerosis sufferers.

Gift shop manager Mark Gibson, 42, and his wife Lezley, 42, who has MS, both from Alston, are charged alongside Marcus Davies, 36, from St Ives, Cambridgeshire.

All three face two charges each of conspiring together to supply cannabis. All three deny the charges.

It is alleged they supplied home-made "Canna-Biz" bars by post to patients with multiple sclerosis, a progressive crippling illness that can produce intense pain.

Supplying cannabis, even for medicinal purposes, without proper authority is a criminal offence. They were arrested in February 2005.

• Cannabis Q&A
The maximum penalty is 14 years' jail for supplying a class C drug.

The three defendants are members of a not-for-profit organisation, Therapeutic Help from Cannabis for Multiple Sclerosis, (THC4MS).

The trial, at Carlisle Crown Court, is scheduled to last 7 days.

BioMS Medical raises additional $6.2 million in private placement

/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION/

- $27.1 million raised in two-tranche private placement to support
advancement of multiple sclerosis drug -

Toronto Stock Exchange Symbol: MS

EDMONTON, Dec. 4 /CNW/ - BioMS Medical Corp ("BioMS" or the
"Corporation") (TSX: MS), a leading developer in the treatment of multiple
sclerosis (MS), today announced that it has completed the second and final
tranche of a private placement, issuing an additional 1,832,300 million units
at a price of CDN $3.41 per unit for gross proceeds of approximately CDN
$6.2 million. Combined with the previously announced closing of an initial
$20.9 million, total gross proceeds of CDN $27.1 million have been raised in
this two-tranche private placement.

"BioMS has seen its available cash resources rise to approximately CDN
$57 million this quarter, after accounting for the funds it started the
quarter with and net proceeds from this financing," said Kevin Giese,
President and CEO of BioMS. "With these resources, we are well capitalized to
advance our lead MS drug MBP8298 on multiple fronts, including its ongoing
pivotal Phase III trial in Secondary Progressive MS and Phase II trial in
Relapsing Remitting MS."

Each unit consists of one Class A common share of the Corporation and
one-half of one Class A common share purchase warrant with each whole warrant
entitling the holder to purchase one Class A common share at an exercise price
of CDN $4.00 per share on or before the date that is four years from the
applicable closing date.

Versant Partners Inc. and Rodman & Renshaw acted as co-lead placement
agents and Fondsfinans ASA acted as co-placement agent.

The securities being issued in the private placement are all subject to a
four-month hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.
The securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, or any state securities laws and, until so registered, may not be
offered or sold in the United States or any state absent registration or an
applicable exemption from registration requirements. This release does not
constitute an offer for sale of securities in the United States.

About BioMS Medical Corp.
-------------------------

BioMS is a biotechnology company engaged in the development and
commercialization of novel therapeutic technologies. BioMS' lead technology,
MBP8298, is for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and is currently in a
pivotal phase II/III clinical trial across Canada and Europe. For further
information please visit our website at www.biomsmedical.com.

This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements that
reflect the current views and/or expectations of BioMS with respect to its
performance, business and future events. Such statements are subject to a
number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results and events may
vary significantly.


For further information: Tony Hesby, Ryan Giese, Corporate
Communications, BioMS Medical Corp., (780) 413-7152, (780)408-3040 Fax,

E-mail: rgiese@biomsmedical.com, Internet: www.biomsmedical.com; James Smith,
Investor Relations, (416) 815-0700 ext. 229, (416) 815-0080 Fax, E-mail:
jsmith@equicomgroup.com; Mr. Barry Mire, Investor Relations, (514) 939-3989,
E-mail: bmire@renmarkfinancial.com

Parkinson's Approach With Stem Cells A Promising First Step

Source: University of Rochester Medical Center
Date: December 4, 2006


Brain cells derived from human embryonic stem cells improved the condition of rats with Parkinson's-like symptoms dramatically, but the treatment caused a significant problem -- the appearance of brain tumors -- that scientists are now working to solve. The study is featured on the cover of the November issue of Nature Medicine.

The work was reported by neurologist Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center and chief of its Division of Cell and Gene Therapy, and Neeta Roy, Ph.D., assistant professor of Neurology at Cornell's Weill Medical College.

"The results are a real cause for optimism," said Goldman. "These animals with severe Parkinson's symptoms had a dramatically improved outcome after treatment. Now we have a new problem to work on, how to achieve the same benefit without creating tumors. But we expect to be able to solve this problem within the next year or two, using new approaches to cell sorting that we've been developing."

"All in all, this is the way medical discoveries move forward: One step at a time."

Goldman has spent much of his career creating ways to isolate stem cells, discovering the molecular signals that help determine what specific types of cells they become, and then re-creating those signals to direct the cells' development. It's the versatility of stem cells that make them so attractive. If scientists like Goldman are successful directing their development, such cells could provide a ready source of cells custom made to treat a given disease -- for instance, myelin-producing cells for multiple sclerosis, or the specific types of cells that die in patients with Parkinson's or Huntington's diseases.

In the experiment reported in Nature Medicine, Goldman, Roy and colleagues set out to grow brain cells called neurons that produce dopamine, a crucial brain chemical lacking in patients with Parkinson's. They began by isolating human embryonic stem cells, then using genes such as "sonic hedgehog" and fibroblast growth factor 8 that make chemicals in the normal brain environment. Such signals are the body's natural way of directing stem cells to develop into the specific cells needed.
Past attempts at using stems cells to make this type of neuron had achieved modest success, but only relatively small numbers could be produced in tissue culture. To improve upon this, Roy and Goldman attempted to re-create the natural environment of the developing brain as much as possible, so it would seem to the stem cells that they were developing in the part of the brain where dopamine neurons are normally made. The team did so by raising the cells together with brain cells known as astrocytes, which had come from the same brain region. These cells have long been known to play a crucial role nourishing neurons.

The result was that more than two-thirds of the stem cells developed into precisely the type of cell needed to treat Parkinson's disease -- dopamine-producing neurons. That percentage is far higher than any previous experiment had achieved.

The team then injected the cells into the brains of rats with Parkinson's-like symptoms, and watched for 10 weeks. While rats with the disorder walked in circles when prompted to move, as if they were chasing their tails, rats transplanted with the new cells recovered normal function and eventually stopped walking in circles. By eight weeks after treatment, the tail-chasing behavior ended completely, and they were walking and running normally.
Yet when the brains of the animals were examined, the team found tumors within the brain grafts. Goldman said the tumors sprang from stem cells that had started on the road to becoming neurons, but then stalled in their development and grew out of control. The team is working on ways to filter out those cells, to reap the benefits while avoiding the side effects of the approach.

"The appearance of tumors was disappointing, but not surprising," said Goldman. "The goals of this experiment were to create a population of cells that had many more dopamine neurons than previous attempts yielded, and to measure whether a group of cells with so many of these neurons would yield real-life benefits in terms of behavior. We accomplished both tasks. The cells improved the disease symptoms dramatically, beyond what we expected.
"In this first attempt of the technology, we did not attempt to try to absolutely purify the cell population that was transplanted -- thus the brain tumors. The experiment confirmed that we need to have an absolutely pure cell population, and we are working on ways to do that."

The work was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Other authors of the paper, all at Cornell, are Carine Cleren, Shashi Singh, Lichuan Yang, and M. Flint Beal.

Molecule Linked to Autoimmune Disease Relapses Identified at Stanford

STANFORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 3, 2006 - The ebb and flow of such autoimmune diseases as multiple sclerosis, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis has long been a perplexing mystery. But new findings from the Stanford University School of Medicine bring scientists closer to solving the puzzle, identifying a molecule that appears to play a central role in relapses.

The study, to be published in the Dec. 3 advance online edition of Nature Immunology, lays the groundwork for a way to determine when a relapse is about to occur, and could eventually lead to a treatment to prevent relapses. "Right now, there is no good blood test to evaluate when a person is going to have a flare-up," said senior author Larry Steinman, MD, professor of neurology and neurological sciences. "If we had one, we might be able to give them prophylactic preventive medication."


The current study had its genesis five years ago: In a paper published in 2001 in the journal Science, Steinman found that a protein called osteopontin was abundant in multiple sclerosis-affected brain tissue, but not in normal tissue. Since then, other groups have confirmed that osteopontin is elevated just prior to and during a relapse of the disease in M.S. patients.

Although the protein had been known to play a role in bone growth, it was unclear why it would be associated with multiple sclerosis, which results when the immune system attacks the protective myelin sheath surrounding nerve cells.

To explore this question, Eun Mi Hur, PhD, who was then a graduate student in Steinman's lab, began using a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (experimental autoimmune encephalomyletis, or EAE) to investigate how osteopontin could cause these flare-ups. She and Steinman gave osteopontin to mice that had already experienced paralysis, similar to that of an M.S. patient, and found that the mice then experienced a relapse of the disease.

The researchers also found that the relapse would occur sometimes in an area of the brain other than the site of the original attack. For example, after receiving the osteopontin, some animals that had previously suffered paralysis became blind from a condition called optic neuritis. One feature of multiple sclerosis is that the flare-ups can affect different parts of the nervous system at different times.

"When I saw that all mice with EAE relapsed and died from the disease after about a month of osteopontin administration, I was surprised," said Hur, the study's first author who is now a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech. "I got a strong belief that a high level of osteopontin in patients' blood and tissue is a major contributor of the relapse and progression of the disease."

Through the mouse studies and molecular characterizations, Hur and Steinman showed that osteopontin -- produced by immune cells and brain cells themselves -- promotes the survival of the T cells that carry out the damaging attack on myelin; by increasing the number of these T cells, osteopontin increases their destructive potential. These results could be applicable to many other autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, type-1 diabetes and lupus.

Indeed, the effect of osteopontin may severely alter the way the immune system works. Normally, after the immune system does its job -- eradicating a microbe, for instance -- the response is then dialed down. If this didn't happen, the immune response would go on indefinitely. Imagine a cold or an attack of poison oak that would last forever.

One of the ways that the immune response is muffled is that the activated T cells die in a process known as apoptosis. That is precisely what osteopontin seems to prevent. Osteopontin lets the T cells linger in the blood, ready to attack again. "We don't know exactly what triggers that new attack but the cells certainly are around and ready to do it," said Steinman. So scientists now face the challenge of figuring out how and why osteopontin is produced. "We're back to the chicken-and-the-egg problem," said Steinman. "We know the egg, so why did the chicken lay it? That is a trickier problem to work out."

Even without knowing the answer to that question, there is one inviting practical use of their observations: Osteopontin could be used as a marker of an impending relapse. What's more, if the protein could be blocked, it might thwart the relapse from ever occurring. Steinman's lab is working to develop antibodies to inactivate the protein's effect. "It's still a long road between saying we want to do it and getting the antibodies, getting it approved by the FDA and getting it tested," said Steinman, "but we are determined to do that."

Still, Steinman offered a caveat. Researchers may find that blocking osteopontin has undesirable side effects. The protein may serve other purposes in addition to promoting survival of immune cells. It could also be vital to the body's ability to produce myelin, a function that could cause severe problems if disrupted. "Like a lot of important biological molecules, osteopontin has a Janus-like quality -- a bad side and a good side," Steinman said. "We're going to be extremely lucky if we give the antibody opposing osteopontin and derive just the good side: We stop the autoimmune attack but don't interfere with the survival of other cells."

Further study will determine whether thwarting osteopontin's effect yields new types of treatments for autoimmune diseases, but regardless, it is likely to lead to discoveries in a host of areas. "I think osteopontin will turn out to be important in a lot of processes, spanning autoimmunity to stem cells," said Steinman. "It's probably going to turn out to be a very basic growth factor."

This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Phil N. Allen Trust, a Stanford Graduate Fellowship, a Korean Government Overseas Scholarship and a National Multiple Sclerosis Society Career Transitional Award. Other authors of the study are: Sawsan Youssef, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in neurology and neurological sciences; M. Edward Haws, an undergraduate at Brigham Young University; Susan Zhang, a Stanford undergraduate, and Raymond Sobel, MD, professor of pathology.

Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education and patient care at its three institutions -- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. For more information, please visit the Web site of the medical center's Office of Communication & Public Affairs at http://mednews.stanford.edu.

Contact

Stanford University Medical Center
Mitzi Baker, 650-725-2106 (Print Media)
mabaker@stanford.edu
Margarita Gallardo, 650-723-7897 (Broadcast Media)
mjgallardo@stanford.edu

State gives $12 million to UConn for stem cell research

by David Bauman - November 28, 2006


The University last week received 15 grant awards totaling more than $12 million of the nearly $20 million awarded by the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee to advance embryonic and human adult stem cell research in the state.

A total of 21 grants were awarded.

The disbursements are the first made under Connecticut's 10-year, $100 million commitment to fund stem cell research, as authorized by Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the General Assembly in 2005.

California, New Jersey, Maryland, and Illinois have passed stem cell research legislation, but Connecticut is the first state to implement an ongoing, structured grant program for stem cell research.

The state-funded grants will support some 23 investigators from UConn departments at both the Storrs campus and the Health Center who are already engaged in significant stem cell and regenerative biology research.

The grants also will expand UConn's cross-campus Stem Cell Institute, which is committed to stem cell biology, while allowing scientists in the state to conduct human embryonic stem cell research in the face of a ban on the use of federal funds for such research.

Stem cells are the ‘building blocks' for every type of cell in the body, capable of maturing into any tissue type including pancreas, blood, bone, or neuronal cells.

Research on stem cells promises to advance human health care by developing innovative cell transplantation therapies for diabetes, cancers, heart and blood disorders, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's disease.

“These awards recognize the expertise of University of Connecticut faculty in a field of great promise to medical research and great potential to contribute to our state's economic growth,” said President Philip E. Austin.

“UConn is playing a leadership role not only in the scientific aspects of stem cell research but in dealing with the ethical and philosophical issues.”

Eight Connecticut-based universities and non-profit institutes submitted 70 research proposals totaling $65 million to the state stem cell panel.

Last month, a separate group of scientists conducted a peer review evaluating all the applications, and ranked each proposal for the state stem cell panel with respect to ethical and scientific merit.

“The committee was impressed by the quality of our research proposals and how these were integrated with the human embryonic stem cell core facility that has been established here at UConn,” said Marc Lalande, professor and chair of the Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology and associate dean for research planning and coordination at the Health Center.

“The funding provided by the state will greatly help us to achieve our goals in understanding the biological basis of cell-based regenerative medicine.”

UConn faculty from both Storrs and the Health Center submitted a total of 39 grant applications in five categories – seed grants of $100,000 in each of two years; established investigator grants of up to $250,000 annually for four years; group project grants of up to $4 million over four years; core facility awards of $5 million over four years; and hybrid grants with a $5 million budget over four years.

Aspirin helps man walk again

Published on 01/12/2006

A WHEELCHAIR-bound man is walking again, thanks to a new diagnosis and a course of aspirin.

Simon Overton, 35, of Little Clifton, was climbing in the Lake District four years ago when he collapsed.

He suffered weakness to his right hand side and was admitted to hospital, where he was told by doctors that he had Multiple Sclerosis-type symptoms.

He recovered, but was affected by similar symptoms after collapsing during climbing trips to Kazakhstan and the Alps, and was resigned to using a wheelchair.

He said: “I kept collapsing and when I tried to get back on my feet, any exertion brought back the symptoms - falls, weakness and shaking.”

Mr Overton, a teacher at Cockermouth School, fought for a further diagnosis of his condition and has started to walk again in the last four weeks after being advised to take aspirin.

He was referred privately to Professor Terence Daymond, a specialist in Sunderland, who consulted London specialist Dr Hyde who is a world expert in misdiagnosis.

At the weekend Mr Overton saw Dr Hyde, who confirmed that tests had shown his condition was not MS but thrombophilia, a hereditary blood clotting abnormality which also affects his sister.

Mr Overton had mentioned his sister’s condition to his own doctor when he had his first attack.

He said: “He made a note on my file but he didn’t do anything. Her condition is quite mild compared to mine.

“You just assume that doctors know best and I thought the link had been considered and discounted. I’m glad I went private. I mentioned my sister to Professor Daymond. He didn’t want to give an opinion, but Dr Hyde saw the significance.

“It was very good to have it confirmed and over the past four weeks I have massively improved. I could hardly walk at all when I saw Prof Daymond.

“He spoke to Dr Hyde, who suggested I had tests and that I started to take aspirin. Hopefully, I will continue to improve and I will be going back for further tests.

He said: “I am not climbing any more and I have been told not to go to altitude.”

“It’s very good to have had the real cause of my problem confirmed. I feel better than I can remember for years. I’m still using a wheelchair at school but in four weeks I feel massively improved.”

Parkinson's approach with stem cells a promising first step

Brain cells derived from human embryonic stem cells improved the condition of rats with Parkinson's-like symptoms dramatically, but the treatment caused a significant problem – the appearance of brain tumors – that scientists are now working to solve. The study is featured on the cover of the November issue of Nature Medicine.

The work was reported by neurologist Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center and chief of its Division of Cell and Gene Therapy, and Neeta Roy, Ph.D., assistant professor of Neurology at Cornell's Weill Medical College.

"The results are a real cause for optimism," said Goldman. "These animals with severe Parkinson's symptoms had a dramatically improved outcome after treatment. Now we have a new problem to work on, how to achieve the same benefit without creating tumors. But we expect to be able to solve this problem within the next year or two, using new approaches to cell sorting that we've been developing."

"All in all, this is the way medical discoveries move forward: One step at a time."

Goldman has spent much of his career creating ways to isolate stem cells, discovering the molecular signals that help determine what specific types of cells they become, and then re-creating those signals to direct the cells' development. It's the versatility of stem cells that make them so attractive. If scientists like Goldman are successful directing their development, such cells could provide a ready source of cells custom made to treat a given disease – for instance, myelin-producing cells for multiple sclerosis, or the specific types of cells that die in patients with Parkinson's or Huntington's diseases.

In the experiment reported in Nature Medicine, Goldman, Roy and colleagues set out to grow brain cells called neurons that produce dopamine, a crucial brain chemical lacking in patients with Parkinson's. They began by isolating human embryonic stem cells, then using genes such as "sonic hedgehog" and fibroblast growth factor 8 that make chemicals in the normal brain environment. Such signals are the body's natural way of directing stem cells to develop into the specific cells needed.

Past attempts at using stems cells to make this type of neuron had achieved modest success, but only relatively small numbers could be produced in tissue culture. To improve upon this, Roy and Goldman attempted to re-create the natural environment of the developing brain as much as possible, so it would seem to the stem cells that they were developing in the part of the brain where dopamine neurons are normally made. The team did so by raising the cells together with brain cells known as astrocytes, which had come from the same brain region. These cells have long been known to play a crucial role nourishing neurons.

The result was that more than two-thirds of the stem cells developed into precisely the type of cell needed to treat Parkinson's disease – dopamine-producing neurons. That percentage is far higher than any previous experiment had achieved.

The team then injected the cells into the brains of rats with Parkinson's-like symptoms, and watched for 10 weeks. While rats with the disorder walked in circles when prompted to move, as if they were chasing their tails, rats transplanted with the new cells recovered normal function and eventually stopped walking in circles. By eight weeks after treatment, the tail-chasing behavior ended completely, and they were walking and running normally.

Yet when the brains of the animals were examined, the team found tumors within the brain grafts. Goldman said the tumors sprang from stem cells that had started on the road to becoming neurons, but then stalled in their development and grew out of control. The team is working on ways to filter out those cells, to reap the benefits while avoiding the side effects of the approach.

"The appearance of tumors was disappointing, but not surprising," said Goldman. "The goals of this experiment were to create a population of cells that had many more dopamine neurons than previous attempts yielded, and to measure whether a group of cells with so many of these neurons would yield real-life benefits in terms of behavior. We accomplished both tasks. The cells improved the disease symptoms dramatically, beyond what we expected.

"In this first attempt of the technology, we did not attempt to try to absolutely purify the cell population that was transplanted – thus the brain tumors. The experiment confirmed that we need to have an absolutely pure cell population, and we are working on ways to do that."

###
The work was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Other authors of the paper, all at Cornell, are Carine Cleren, Shashi Singh, Lichuan Yang, and M. Flint Beal.

Contact: Tom Rickey
tom_rickey@urmc.rochester.edu
585-275-7954
University of Rochester Medical Center

3 Illinois towns show higher caseloads of MS

LEWISTOWN, Ill. Researchers say a study analyzing five possible multiple sclerosis "clusters" in Illinois shows three towns with more cases than expected.

The study was done by the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Spokeswoman Barb Sjostrom (SHOH'-strum) says Lewistown in central Illinois, Paw Paw in northern Illinois and Morrison in northwestern Illinois had elevated numbers.

She says Savanna and Depue in northern Illinois didn't have elevated numbers.

Sjostrom says researchers didn't find an environmental link. Residents had reported what they believed to be more cases of M-S than normal.

She says the disease was more prevalent among people with northern European ancestry and women.

The agency for toxic substances and disease registry funded the study. It's scheduled to be presented tomorrow morning in Lewistown.

(Thanks Donald H. Johnson, WIUM-FM, Macomb)
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Outdoor medicine: MS becomes an excuse ... to get outdoors

By MILES BLUMHARDT
MilesBlumhardt@coloradoan.com


There is no clinical cure for multiple sclerosis, but for some, there is an environmental cure - the outdoors.

Larimer County and Colorado have some of the highest rates of the neurological disease in the country. But while many people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, or MS, fear they'll end up in wheelchairs, some area residents battling the debilitating disease think more of snowboards, bikes and hiking boots. They say it's a way to help them live with MS and hope their experiences will encourage others with the disease to see the outdoors as the next best thing to a cure.

Susannah Wright, of Livermore, Jim Dunlap, of Fort Collins, and Dave Rud, of Loveland, all were active outdoor types when stricken with the disease in the prime of life, which is the case for most. They were initially as confused as the next person about the disease.

"The misconception is that you are in a wheelchair right away and that you are on a pretty fast slippery slope to disability," said Wright, 38, who was training for a marathon when she first noticed symptoms that included fatigue and imbalance. She was diagnosed with MS in 2003. "I don't think that's necessarily true."

Dunlap, 46, was an avid bike racer when he was diagnosed in 2004.

"Everybody knows about MS and they know it's a bad thing and they think that people will struggle until they end up in a wheelchair," said Dunlap, who was struggling through a relapse when interviewed for this story. "That's what I thought at first. But now I know differently. It's not what happens, it's how you come out on the other side."

And that other side of this frustrating and unpredictable disease can be enhanced by staying active, said Christy Dittmar, occupational therapist with the Center for Neurorehabilitation in Fort Collins.

"They don't know when they get up if they will be able to do what they planned to do that day, and things can change in a matter of hours,'' she said. "They live with the disease hanging over them. However, those who are active and keep moving forward with goals and plans and are able to adjust psychologically and cope with relapses will be farther ahead than if they wouldn't do those things.''

Mysterious MS

There is plenty of reason for the confusion, which ironically, is a common symptom of the disease, along with bouts of blurred vision, extreme fatigue, balance loss, partial paralysis, numbness and tingling sensations.

Despite 70 years and $500 million in research led by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the disease remains pretty much a mystery. It's thought to be an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks a person's central nervous system.

Myelin, the tissue protecting nerve fibers that help send electrical impulses to the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve, are attacked and damaged. The result is scar tissue, or sclerosis, forming on the nerve fibers, which disrupts signals to the brain.

Although not directly inherited, genetic factors are suspected of making some people more susceptible than others. Others suggest environmental conditions might be the cause. Most often, an MRI is needed to definitively diagnose the complex disease.

For about 85 percent of the 400,000 Americans with the disease, symptoms flare up for varying lengths of time before subsiding and going into remission for varying lengths of time. For others, the disease continually progresses at various rates.

Occurrences and the magnitude of the effects of the disease are unpredictable, although some people do fall into patterns.

Food and Drug Administration-approved medications as well as therapeutic and technological advances have lessened the frequency and severity, and in general, the progress of the disease.

Studies also have shown another promising treatment to manage MS is exercise, when matched to the capability of the individual. Wright, Dunlap and Rud can attest to the physical, but more importantly, the mental healing effects of exercising outdoors.

Though slowed by the disease, Wright continues to snowboard with her husband and two children when she's not working on hiking the entire 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail in segments.

"When I'm in the outdoors, it makes my heart sing," Wright said. "There is a lot of mental stress with MS. I remember after I was diagnosed going on my first backpacking trip and not feeling well. The farther I got, the better I felt. My eyesight got better and my feet weren't tingling.

"There is a peace being out in the environment that helps reduce the stress. It helps me not to see myself as a sick person."

Helping others with MS

Wright wanted others with MS to imagine themselves in that same frame of mind. She attended an adaptive ski and snowboard camp in 2004 and this year was awarded the National MS Society Pioneering Spirit Award.

She parlayed that into funding through the local Mildred Arnold Foundation to launch a new program in Larimer County called "Active with MS." The program helps people with MS experience outdoor adventures, including skiing, biking, climbing and rowing.

The program has an adaptive ski and snowboard trip to Breckenridge scheduled Dec. 16.

"What's been found with newly diagnosed people is that experiences like these can change their outlook on living with the disease so you start looking at things you can do instead of things you think you can't do," Wright said. "The mental aspect of how you picture yourself with the disease is so important and carries on through the rest of your life."

This year, Dunlap raised more than $15,000 for the Tyler Hamilton Foundation, which benefits those with MS.

The disease forced him to resign his position on the board of The Group real estate company and has forced him periodically to walk with a cane. Initially, he gave into the disease, quitting competitive cycling, falling out of shape and eating poorly. But then his competitive juices kicked in.

These days, he leads spinning classes for the Colorado Eagles hockey team, rides recreationally, still runs a few races, including the Horsetooth Half Marathon with his girlfriend Laura Heath, and lifts weights.

"The long camping trips and climbing Longs Peak are pretty much off the table, but getting back in better shape and eating right has made a huge difference," Dunlap said. "I chuckled when I read there was a study on Parkinson's patients that found that Pilates improved strength and helped in everyday life. Well, duh."

Unlike Wright and Dunlap, Rud no longer takes medication, saying the outdoors is his drug of choice.

Diagnosed with MS in 2000, he celebrated his 50th birthday in August 2005 by climbing 14,255-foot Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. Going off medication might not be the right thing for everyone, he said, but that experience was so freeing to his mind and body that he believed it was the right decision for him.

The trip moved him to start the Climbing for Those Who Can't campaign, which raises funds for the MS Society through his pursuit of all 54 of Colorado's peaks 14,000 feet or higher in elevation.

"Hope has to come from within, and I want this to fuel the fire," Rud said. "I realized through all of this that the most powerful thing on the planet is the mind. Either you control it or it controls you. I'm climbing all 54 of them, but if just one person will use this as motivation to just go for a longer walk, I'll be happy."