The head of Industrial Research Ltd's (IRL) biotechnology division, Richard Furneaux, revealed that his team is working in collaboration with scientists in New York on a new approach aimed at reducing effects of those whose suffer from arthritis.

Wellington scientists are working on a new medicine they say may provide relief for millions of people who suffer crippling pain from gout.

The team recently announced human clinical trial of the drug, in patients suffering from gout, particularly common in people of Maori and Pacific island descent. The trial is recruiting 120 patients at 12 hospitals in the US and is expected to run until September 2010, as has been shared by Dr. Furneaux.

Dr. Richard Furneaux, from Industrial Research Limited's biotechnology division said that both Allopurinol and an alternative drug on the market impart their action by targeting uric acid production, while his team's medicine targets a different area.

The new drug would give doctors a greater choice of drugs for lowering uric acid levels.

Today, there are a huge number scientists working on the project and the expected expenditure is estimated to lie between $135 million and $270 million in the nation's biotechnology sector.