Jonathan Simms (1 June 1984 – 5 March 2011) was a man from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who contracted variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) in his late teenage years.
However, due to his receiving experimental treatment for the disease (of pentosan polysulfate), he lived for another ten years after diagnosis, although his higher functions were severely limited.
[5] The doctor who first examined him, Dr. Mark McClean, later said: "It was either multiple sclerosis or variant CJD; I told them that I thought it was MS, because I hoped to God that's what it was.
[10] The legal challenge centred around the fact that whilst the drug had been shown to decelerate the onset of the disease in animals, it had not been tested on humans.
[10]The medical community's objection to the use of the drug was that it has traditionally been indicated for its anti-coagulant and anti-inflammatory properties, which meant using it in high doses on Simms ran the risk of haemorrhage.
[2] By September 2003, it was reported by Simms' primary care team that he had regained the ability to swallow, his body weight had stabilised and returned to normal and that his anxiety levels had decreased.