Glatiramer

General information

Glatiramer acetate (Copaxone, also known as co-polymer 1 or cop-1) is an immunomodulatory drug that consists of a pool of synthetic peptides composed of random sequences of four amino acids, l -alanine, l -lysine, l -glutamic acid, and l -tyrosine. Its composition is based on the amino acid structure of myelin basic protein. It has been used to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis. Glatiramer acetate suppresses experimental autoimmune encephalitis, the animal model for multiple sclerosis, in various species, including primates. It binds promiscuously to major histocompatibility complex class II molecules and competes with myelin basic protein and other myelin proteins for binding and presentation to T cells of type Th2 [ ].

Drug studies