Isis Pharmaceuticals (ISIS) has issued a statement that they have stopped developing the new rheumatoid arthritis drug which was expected to be released soon. It was expected to be published in a journal by the end of this year.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a disorder primarily affecting the joints causing pain. For this study they took 51 patients suffering from the rheumatoid arthritis and were given100 mg, 200 mg, or a 400 mg dose of ISIS-CRP (C-Reactive Protein) or a placebo for 12 weeks.

The treatment was mainly based on ISIS ‘’antisense’’ technology which halts the production of disease causing proteins by binding to specific genes causing reduction of LDL cholesterol. It is also called bad cholesterol which is significantly high during rheumatoid arthritis. So the basic treatment was aimed at lowering the bad cholesterol.

They said although there were improvements in the symptoms of the patients taking their experimental drug, it is not satisfactory compared to those one’s taking placebo. Because of the disappointing results the company said they are going to halt any further experimental studies for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis based on CRP treatment.