Rheumatoid arthritis researchers receive Crafoord Prize from King of Sweden

Embargoed until
00:01BST Monday 18 September

Gold medals will be awarded to two researchers from Imperial College by the King of Sweden on Monday for their work leading to new treatment in rheumatoid arthritis.

Professors Ravinder Maini and Marc Feldmann, both of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Division, Imperial College School of Medicine, will receive the Crafoord Prize on 18 September at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

It is the first time since the annual Prize was instituted in 1982 that the Royal Academy has awarded the prize in the field of polyarthritis. As well as gold medals, USD500,000 will be divided between them.

Professor Maini said: "The prize is a great honour for Marc and myself. It is both pleasing and intimidating to be in the company of distinguished previous laureates from the UK such as Sir Fred Hoyle, who described the big bang theory of the creation of the universe, and Sir Robert May, chief scientific advisor to the British government. (See Notes to Editors 1)

Discovery

The Prize has been awarded for their identification of TNF (tumour necrosis factor) as a therapeutic target for rheumatoid arthritis. Working on the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis since the mid 1980s they focused on the role played by the various signalling molecules, the cytokines, in regulating the disease processes.

They discovered that it was possible to treat the disease by blocking the action of TNF with anti-TNF antibodies, called cA-2.

A series of extensive clinical trials showed that blocking the activity of TNF not only had a very good effect on joint inflammation in a large majority of patients, but could also delay joint destruction.

The success of the trials resulted in two different drugs which block TNF, gaining licences in the US and the UK for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Personal reactions

Professor Marc Feldmann

Professor Feldmann said: This means a lot to us. The recognition by our peers and the prestige that the Prize brings is particularly gratifying. Weve been working on cytokines and auto-immunity since 1983 and this tells us that we havent been wasting our time! To be in the company of such amazing previous laureates is quite an honour.

Of course it is very pleasing for us, but it is really also a recognition of the hard work of all our colleagues that we have collaborated with over the years at the Kennedy Institute.

Professor Maini said: Im a physician researcher - combining clinical practice in the National Health Service with research at Imperial College - but at heart Im a physician so I feel a great deal of satisfaction when I see that our research has led to a new therapy for our patients. That is an unusual event in any researcher's career.

Professor Christopher Edwards, principal of Imperial College School of Medicine, said: "I am absolutely delighted that the Swedish Academy of Sciences has recognised the importance of Professors Mainis and Feldmanns work in the Kennedy Institute by the award of this very prestigious Prize.

"This work has demonstrated the dramatic benefit for patients with rheumatoid arthritis of combining basic scientific and clinical research. The merger of the Kennedy with Imperial College on 1 August has further strengthened the new school of medicine and will continue to facilitate the development of similar approaches to other chronic diseases."

Treatment availability in the UK

The anti-TNF drug that stemmed from Maini and Feldmanns work was launched for use in severe rheumatoid arthritis in the UK this year. Remicade, however, is an expensive treatment- approx UKP7-8,000 per year including the actual cost of care - which has led to fears that the drug may be too expensive for some local health authorities to afford.

Prof Feldmann said: It is sad in general in the UK to witness how slow we are to take up new medical advances. The way the system works is not always optimalfor all patients.

Professor Ravinder Maini

Professor Maini said: Its salutary that in the US in the 18 months since launch of the drug over 120,000 patients have already benefited. I believe however that the trial data is very strong and that the UK Department of Health will be persuaded that Remicade is the best available treatment for the 5-10 per cent of patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis. Already several health authorities have sanctioned the use of the drug - for example in Kent and the Midlands.

The award ceremony will take place at 17:00 GMT on Monday 18 September 2000 at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.

The scientific symposium will take place in Stockholm and Lund, on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 September respectively.

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For further information please contact:

Tom Miller
Press Office
Imperial College
Tel: +44 20 7594 6704 or +44 7803 886248
Email: t.miller@imperial.ac.uk

Notes to editors:

1. Professors Maini and Feldmann join two other Crafoord laureates currently on the Imperial College staff - Professor Sir Robert May of the department of biology (joint appointment with Oxford University) in 1996, and Professor Simon Donaldson, of the department of mathematics, who received the prize when he was at Oxford, in 1994.

2. The Laureates will each give three talks in Sweden; a general talk about their achievements to the audience at the Prize ceremony in Stockholm, a more detailed talk at the scientific symposium at the Academy the following day, and then a repeat performance in Lund, home town of the Crafoord family, the day after.

3. Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Division.

Profiles

The first Head of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Division is Professor Ravinder Maini, Director since 1990 and a clinical rheumatologist. Professor Maini was born in 1937 and studied medicine at Cambridge and in London. He has been associated with the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology since 1979.

Professor Marc Feldmann is a basic research immunologist. Born in 1944 he studied medicine in Melbourne, Australia. He came to the Department of Zoology, University College, London in 1972. He has been Deputy Director and Head of the Immunology Unit at the Charing Cross Sunley Research Centre, which merged with the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in 1992.

History

The Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology was established and built in 1965 with a foundation gift from the Kennedy Charitable Trust. The Institute was assigned by deed of gift to the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council (ARC) in 1992. In 1997 the ARC built a state-of-the-art laboratory facility and relocated the Kennedy Institute to its present, integrated site on the Charing Cross campus of Imperial College, Hammersmith, west London. On 1 August 2000 the Kennedy Institute merged with the College and became a Division of the School of Medicine.

Staff

Around 120 staff work on the new site, of whom approximately 90 are research and technical staff, 15 PhD students and the remainder support, secretarial and administrative employees.

The four Divisional Heads are Professor Marc Feldmann (Cytokine Biology & Cellular Immunology), Professor Jerry Saklatvala (Molecular Pathology& Cell Signalling), Professor Hideakis Nagase (Matrix Biology) and Professor Ravinder Maini (Clinical Research).

Funding

It has been funded by medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign since its inception, and currently receives an annual core grant of UKP2.93m. Funding also comes from ICSM, the MRC, the European Union and the Wellcome Trust. The Institute receives a total of UKP5.5 million annually for research and when it merged with Imperial College added UKP4 million to College turnover. It undergoes a rigorous scientific review every five years, and at the last review in 1996 a panel of national and international experts concluded that the research it undertook was "world class."

4. Imperial College School of Medicine was formed in 1995 when Imperial College and its existing medical school, St Mary's Hospital Medical School were joined by the National Heart and Lung Institute. It further expanded when the Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School and the Royal Postgraduate Medical School joined in August 1997. It now stands as one of the country's largest medical schools both in terms of student numbers and research income; it is a school which finds strength in its diversity, size and make up. It accounts for 44 per cent of the total income and 52 per cent of the research grant income of the College. Web site at www.med.ic.ac.uk

5. Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine is an independent constituent part of the University of London. Founded in 1907, the College teaches a full range of science, engineering, medical and management disciplines at the highest level. The College is the largest applied science and technology university institution in the UK, with one of the largest annual turnovers (UKP330 million in 1998-99) and research incomes (UKP173 million in 1998-99). Web site at www.ic.ac.uk