The Russian Ministry of Health has registered the world’s first drug for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis – Russia |

25th of April. Interfax-Russia.ru – The world’s first drug for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis has been registered in Russia; during clinical trials it showed high efficiency and safety, the Russian Ministry of Health reported.

“The Russian Ministry of Health has registered the world’s first and first-in-class targeted drug for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis. According to the results of clinical trials, it showed a high profile of effectiveness and safety,” the press service of the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

It is noted that an innovative solution for the treatment of autoimmune diseases was developed by scientists from the Russian National Research Medical University named after N. I. Pirogov of the Ministry of Health of Russia, the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry named after Academicians M. M. Shemyakin and Yu. A. Ovchinnikov of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The drug was developed jointly with the domestic pharmaceutical company Biocad.

Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic disease in which antibodies mistake cartilage tissue and joints of the body for foreign bodies. Pain and stiffness in the spine can lead to limited mobility.

The Ministry of Health reported that the developed drug makes it possible to destroy pathological T-lymphocytes that attack the body’s own cells. Initial clinical studies have confirmed that the progression of the disease is stopped without reducing the activity of the body’s immune system as a whole.

After registering the drug, the manufacturing company can begin its industrial production, the press service added.