Ankylosing spondylitis is a disease in which antibodies mistake cartilage tissue and joints in the body for foreign objects. Gradual fusion of vertebrae occurs, affecting the hip and other joints, leading to complete loss of mobility. The peak incidence is between 25-35 years old.

Initial clinical studies have confirmed that the progression of the disease is halted without reducing the activity of the body's immune system.

Patients report that with seneprutug therapy, a different lifestyle is formed. They become active, plan vacations, and talk about the future. For a doctor, the greatest gift is to see a positive treatment outcome, control over the disease, and happy patient faces, says Alesia Klimenko, head of the faculty therapy department at the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University by the Ministry of Health of Russia.

Previous medications neutralized the action of cytokines — key signaling molecules responsible for immune system activation.

A different approach was required for treating autoimmune diseases — removing pathological clones. It took years of effort to identify them, as the repertoire of T-cell receptors includes over 100 million variants. Nevertheless, the task was solved by our team's efforts. The emergence of a new breakthrough drug in the arsenal of Russian doctors provides a chance to obtain treatment for millions of patients with ankylosing spondylitis worldwide, said one of the developers, Sergey Anatolyevich Lukyanov, rector of the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University by the Ministry of Health of Russia, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

After the registration of the drug, BIOCAD company will begin its industrial production.