Whither oral tolerance

At the beginning of the year, AutoImmune Inc. investors looked forward to several milestones to give proof that oral tolerance therapy would bring drugs to market for both multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. However, AIMM last week reported a "positive trend" but not significant results for two Phase II trials of Colloral chicken collagen for RA, news which followed disappointing Phase III results last month for Myloral bovine myelin for MS (see BioCentury Extra April 22, 1997).

After the Myloral results, AIMM (Lexington, Mass.) said that it planned to conserve its resources and push Colloral forward. That is still the plan, according to President and CEO Robert Bishop; however, the next step depends on data analysis and upcoming meetings with AIMM's clinical consultants...