Latest News

The Immune Tolerance Network (ITN) today announced enrollment of the first participant in a phase II clinical research trial evaluating whether intramuscular injections of alefacept (Amevive®) halt or slow the destruction of insulin-producing beta cells in patients recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The research trial, Inducing Remission in New-Onset Type 1 Diabetes with Alefacept (T1DAL), is seeking 66 eligible participants at approximately 15 clinical research centers nationwide.

The Immune Tolerance Network (ITN) today announced enrollment of the first patient in a phase II clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of abatacept in adult patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), the most common form of multiple sclerosis. The trial aims to enroll 123 eligible participants at 20 clinical research centers across the United States over the next two years.

The Immune Tolerance Network (ITN) today announced enrollment of the first participant in a two-part, phase II clinical research trial evaluating the effect of intravenous alpha 1-antitrypsin (AAT) on preserving the function of insulin-producing cells in patients recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. ARALAST NP is one marketed formulation of AAT. The Research Trial of ARALAST NP in new onset Type 1 Diabetes (RETAIN) is seeking 82 eligible participants at 15 clinical research centers across the U.S. The first participant was enrolled at Emory University/Children’s Hospital of Atlanta.

The Immune Tolerance Network (ITN) implemented a Strategic Partnerships and Business Development Initiative and will be establishing and building relationships with industry and advocacy groups. This will promote a platform to expand the collaborative community of the ITN. For more information follow @ITNpartnerships on Twitter.

Update October 2, 2013: ITN's sample sharing program, previously managed through BioShare, has been integrated into ITN's clinical trials portal, TrialShare. Please visit ITNTrialShare.org to learn more about or gain access to ITN clinical trial samples.

This year marks the Immune Tolerance Network's 10th anniversary! To celebrate, the ITN invites you to attend a one day symposium - "Ten Years of Tolerance" on November 1, 2010 at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.

Results of an Immune Tolerance Network (ITN) clinical trial may provide doctors with another weapon in the treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis, which has seen no new approved treatments in 40 years. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that the drug rituximab provides the same treatment benefits as the existing standard of care, and appears to offer additional benefits to those suffering relapses.

The results of two Immune Tolerance Network (ITN)-sponsored efforts in identifying genetic and cellular signatures of transplant tolerance were published this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The signatures are patterns of gene expression and cell types that were found to be characteristic of a set of rare patients who developed a natural tolerance for their kidney transplant – meaning they do not require anti-rejection medications. It is hoped that these signatures will one day yield a test that will allow doctors reduce the dose of or even eliminate anti-rejection medications in an individually tailored fashion.

The Immune Tolerance Network (ITN) is currently seeking Concept Proposals for novel clinical trials designed to induce immune tolerance in Type 1 Diabetes, transplantation, autoimmune diseases and allergy and asthma. In addition, the ITN accepts applications for the development of novel tolerance assays or mechanistic studies for the purposes of establishing new surrogate biomarkers of immune tolerance and investigating the mechanisms of clinical tolerance.  Proposals should be submitted via our site:  https://www.immunetolerance.org/for-researchers/proposals

The recommendations of the ITN/JDRF Type 1 Diabetes Combination Therapy Assessment Group have been published in the May 2010 issue of Clinical & Experimental Immunology.