A polyclonal antibody product for treating an autoimmunedisease, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), was ableto increase the platelet count in 60 to 80 percent of the 210patients enrolled in a Phase III clinical trial.

Speaking at the 34th Annual Meeting of the American Societyof Hematology this week in Anaheim, Calif., James Bussel of theCornell Medical Center-New York Hospital said that the product,WinRho SD, was administered to HIV-infected and uninfectedpatients with ITP in this study.

ITP is a blood disorder in which patients' own antibodies attackand destroy the circulating platelets essential to blood clotting.It affects about 100,000 to 150,000 people annually, includingapproximately 10 percent of HIV-infected people.

WinRho SD was developed by Rh Pharmaceuticals of Winnipeg,Manitoba. Univax Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:UNVX) of Rockville,Md., has exclusive marketing rights for the product in the U.S.

-- Jennifer Van Brunt\ Senior Editor

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.