About the Anti-EBV clinical trial
A treatment to target EBV has been shown to improve symptoms in some people with progressive MS in a world-first clinical trial.
The small phase I safety trial used an ‘adoptive T cell immunotherapy’ treatment. This involves taking blood from patients, extracting their immune cells, and then ‘training’ these cells in the lab to recognise and destroy EBV. The cells are then reintroduced to the patient’s body and go to work in targeting the EBV hiding in the body.
The trial was carried out by Professor Michael Pender and Professor Rajiv Khanna and MS Research Australia is proud to have contributed to the funding of this project, as well as significantly supporting Professor Pender’s EBV research over the last decade.
In this video Professor Pender explains how the trial came about, what it involved and what the results may mean for the future.
About Professor Michael Pender
Professor Michael Pender is a neurologist and researcher from The University of Queensland and Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. He has spent much of his career investigating EBV in MS with a great deal of support along the way from MS Research Australia.