Scientists, Investors, and Patients in the Quest for a Cure
JULY 30, 2001
HUMAN TRIALS
Debilitating autoimmune diseases,
in which the body's immune system attacks healthy tissue, afflict millions
of people around the world. A cure for such disorders--which include multiple
sclerosis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis--has been as elusive as those
for cancer or AIDS. In recent years, there have been promising developments
that someday may lead to a breakthrough. But most scientists have learned
not to expect miracles. In Human Trials: Scientists, Investors, and Patients
in the Quest for a Cure, writer Susan Quinn documents one ill-fated search:
the story of Howard Weiner, a determined and talented Harvard Medical School
professor and the biotech startup he helped found, AutoImmune Inc. The
narrative is well written and packed with valuable information--but its
stab at analysis falters.
Quinn, the author of Marie Curie:
A Life, conducted extensive interviews with patients and scientists during
the course of the trials, observed top-level meetings at AutoImmune, and
had access to Weiner's extensive personal journals. She writes poignantly
of the difficulties of all those involved in drug tests. And she conveys
very well the often-harrowing experiences of patients who participated.
Most drug tests, it should be pointed
out, do not succeed. And indeed, that turned out to be the case at AutoImmune,
where medical success proved harder to come by than the considerable financing
needed to fund its lengthy and expensive experiments.
Weiner believed that patients with
multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis could fight their diseases
by taking drugs concocted from the very proteins that their errant immune
systems were targeting for attack. On the basis of that premise, AutoImmune
developed two drugs: Myloral for MS and Colloral for RA. But in the end,
neither drug was any more effective than placebos. Failures such as this
are devastating for all concerned. A major problem, as Quinn points out,
is the lack of aftercare for patients. "What's going to happen now?" asks
Karyn Kraft, an MS patient whose condition at first seemed to improve with
Myloral. After she learned of the overall results of the trial, she--and
others like her--took a turn for the worse.
The startup also suffered. It was
forced to let its nearly 100 scientists go, and by 2000, when Quinn leaves
off, CEO Robert C. Bishop is managing what's left of the company's patent
portfolio from his home in Pasadena, Calif. Money continues to flow on
some patents.
Human Trials fails to provide a real
understanding of the issues. Quinn does not really reflect on what she
has observed until the final two chapters--and even then, the reader is
left wondering what it all means. It's as though the writer, caught up
in the excitement at AutoImmune, was unprepared for the failure of the
experiments. But that's a minor gripe. Human Trials is a rare work that
should be required reading for doctors and investors--and for patients
who must decide whether or not to participate in a clinical trial.
By Irene M. Kunii
BOOKS
Lab Report
Scientists, Investors, and Patients
in the Quest for a Cure
By Susan Quinn
Perseus -- 295pp -- $26