Marc Feldmann facts for kids

Sir Marc Feldmann (born December 2, 1944) is a British scientist who studied in Australia. He is an immunologist, which means he studies the body's immune system. Sir Marc is a professor at the University of Oxford and a senior researcher at Somerville College, Oxford. He is famous for helping to create a new treatment for diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

Marc Feldmann's Early Life and Education

Marc Feldmann was born on December 2, 1944, in Lvov. His family, who were Jewish, moved to France right after World War II. When he was eight years old, his family moved from France to Australia.

He went to the University of Melbourne and earned a medical degree in 1967. Later, in 1972, he earned a Ph.D. in immunology. He did this at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research with a famous scientist named Sir Gustav Nossal.

His Work in London

In the 1970s, Marc Feldmann moved to London. He first worked at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. In 1985, he moved to the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology. This institute later joined Imperial College London in 2000. In 2011, the institute moved to the University of Oxford.

Discovering New Treatments for Autoimmune Diseases

Understanding Autoimmune Diseases

In the 1980s, Sir Marc Feldmann suggested a new idea about how autoimmune diseases start. Autoimmune diseases happen when your body's immune system mistakenly attacks its own healthy cells. He thought that tiny proteins called cytokines played a big role. These cytokines can cause inflammation in the body.

His idea was proven true in studies of thyroid disease. Starting in 1984, he worked with Ravinder N. Maini to study rheumatoid arthritis. This is an autoimmune disease that affects about 1% of people. It causes pain and swelling in the joints.

The Role of TNF-alpha

Sir Marc Feldmann's team found that joints affected by rheumatoid arthritis had many more pro-inflammatory cytokines than healthy joints. A researcher named Fionula Brennan on his team found that one specific cytokine, called tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), was very important.

They discovered that if they blocked TNFα, the levels of other inflammation-causing cytokines went down. This discovery led to the idea of trying to block TNF in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. These patients had not gotten better with other treatments.

Successful Clinical Trials

The first successful tests on patients happened in 1992. They used a medicine called infliximab at Charing Cross Hospital. This medicine was an antibody that blocked TNFα.

Because these tests worked so well, other companies started making similar medicines. By 1998, a medicine called etanercept (Enbrel) was approved in the US. In 1999, infliximab (Remicade) was also approved. Many other anti-TNF drugs have been approved since then.

These anti-TNF drugs are now standard treatments. They help stop the inflammation and damage to tissues caused by rheumatoid arthritis. They also help with other autoimmune diseases like Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis.

Awards and Honors

Sir Marc Feldmann has received many important awards for his work.

• In 2000, he and Ravinder N. Maini won the Crafoord Prize.
• In 2003, they received the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research.
• In 2008, he won the Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research.
• In 2014, he received the Canada Gairdner International Award.
• In 2020, he was awarded the Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science.
• In 2024, he and Ravinder N. Maini received the Royal Medal from the Royal Society.

He is also a Fellow of many important groups, including the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal Society of London. In 2010, he was made a knight by the Queen. This means he can use the title "Sir."