Four of the six men taken seriously ill after a disastrous drug trial in Britain have been taken off organ support, the hospital treating them said today.
The four are "making a steady recovery" and are responding well to treatment, a statement from Northwick Park Hospital in north-west London said.
The other two men are still in a critical condition but are continuing to show early signs of improvement.
The statement said: "We are pleased that the four seriously ill patients are continuing to respond well to their treatment and are making a steady recovery.
"We have now been able to remove artificial organ support from all of these men, which is a positive step.
"They still need specialist care, and remain under the close supervision of the critical care team.
"The two other men are still in a critical condition. The team caring for them are continuing to see the very early signs of improvement that were evident over the weekend.
"However, the medical team remain cautious and, in the light of the complexity of the men's condition, feel it is still too early to comment on prognosis."
The statement said the pair in a critical condition were "under sedation for their own comfort while they receive organ support".
Earlier, the firm behind the drug that was used confirmed it had caused temporary swelling in the glands of two monkeys during animal experiments.
But the German company TeGenero, which developed the TGN1412 drug, said the monkeys' symptoms were completely different from those suffered by the men. All six patients fell ill last Monday after being injected with the drug.
The previously healthy men had volunteered to test the medication, which was designed to treat rheumatoid arthritis, leukaemia and multiple sclerosis. When given it, the men "went down like dominoes", vomiting, screaming in pain and breaking out in fevers, according to one witness who was given a placebo in the tests.
The medical research company responsible for the drug trial, Parexel, has insisted it had followed correct procedures.
PA