MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENT AT NEW DRUG ANNOUNCEMENT, 1997-01-03 (photo)

Multiple Sclerosis patient Britta Schramm (L), a speech pathologist from Los Angeles, poses with Weizmann Institute associate director Barbara Lardizabal after a news conference January 3 in Los Angeles annoucing a major new drug therapy for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. The drug, Copaxone, discovered at the Weizmann Institue in Israel, is made up of four amino acids which act as a decoy on the body's nerve cells, fooling the immune system. Schramm, who has been on the drug for three years during testing, has been able to resume her normal workload. The drug will be available in early 1997. NEW DRUG THERAPY