Hepatitis C treatment to begin clinical trials in the Netherlands
Kirin Brewery's pharmaceutical division is developing a treatment for chronic hepatitis C that promises to cause fewer side-effects and to be more effective than the widely used interferon. The company plans to begin clinical trials of the compound, code-named KRN7000, in the Netherlands, where advanced testing equipment is available as well as a sufficient number of hepatitis sufferers willing to undergo treatment using the compound.
The principal ingredient of KRN7000 is alpha-galactosyl-ceramide, a glycolipid that activates natural killer T-cells, NKT cells, a kind of lymphatic corpuscle that plays a key role in the body's immune system. NKT cells attack cells that been infected with viruses to prevent them from multiplying and also stimulate natural killer cells that attack abnormal cells. The synergy between NKT cells' two functions is expected to make the new drug superior to interferon.