MedClone Inc. said Wednesday that it has filed a request withthe FDA for Orphan Drug Designation for its MAb3E10, an anti-idiotype vaccine intended to treat nephritis associated withsystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the second most prevalentsystemic autoimmune disease after rheumatoid arthritis. TheLos Angeles company said it plans to start clinical trials withMAb3E10 in December with 12 patients at the VA MedicalCenter in Sepulveda, Calif., and the Hospitalier Universitaire deVaudois in Lausanne, Switzerland.

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