BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that it has filed aninvestigational new drug (IND) application with the FDA tobegin clinical trials on its psoriasis drug BCX-34. BCX-34 acts byinhibiting the enzyme purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP).In turn, this selectively prevents T cell proliferation. In animalmodels, the drug halts the progress of inflammatory disease.The privately held Birmingham, Ala., company is using itsproprietary structure-based drug design technology to searchfor drugs to treat inflammatory autoimmune diseases,infectious diseases and cardiovascular diseases.

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