Setpoint Medical Corp. reported positive topline results from its landmark RESET-RA study. The study evaluated the Setpoint system as a potential new neuroimmune modulation treatment for adults living with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis who are incomplete responders or are intolerant to biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.
Autoimmune disease specialist Scirhom GmbH has raised €63 million (US$68 million) in a series A to take an antibody against iRhom2, an enzyme that regulates TNF-alpha secretion, into the clinic. The company has approval for a phase I trial in healthy volunteers that will start later this year, with plans for proof-of-concept trials in rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease to follow.
Monte Rosa Therapeutics Inc. has submitted an IND application to the FDA for MRT-6160, a highly selective and orally bioavailable molecular glue degrader directed against VAV1 in development for systemic and neurological autoimmune diseases.
The generation of anti-citrullinated protein autoantibodies (ACPA) are known key drivers in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and are generated by peptidyl arginine deiminases (PADs).
Cellular communication network factor 1 (CCN1) is overexpressed in endothelial cells and synovial tissues of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The effects of inhibiting CCN1 in two experimental models of RA were tested.
The immune cell restricted guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) and scaffolding protein VAV1 plays a key role in mediating T-cell receptor (TCR) and B-cell receptor (BCR) activity and signaling.
Santa Ana Bio Inc. has emerged from stealth with $168 million in combined series A and B funding and a focus on developing targeted therapies for patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
Aqilion AB has expanded its pipeline through the nomination of protein kinase C θ (PKCθ) as the target of a new immunology project. The PKCθ kinase is believed to be centrally involved in the pathogenesis of T-cell-mediated inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
Vyne Therapeutics Inc. has received IND clearance from the FDA allowing it to initiate a first-in-human phase Ia study of VYN-202, an oral small-molecule BD2-selective BET inhibitor for autoimmune diseases.
Gilead Sciences Inc. is aiming to capitalize on the early August 2022 buyout of privately held U.K. biotech Mirobio Ltd. with the advancement of PD-1 agonist GS-0151 into phase Ib trials for rheumatoid arthritis, a decision that Leerink analyst David Risinger hailed as positive for others at work with the intriguing mechanism. Paying $405 million for Oxford-based Mirobio, Gilead took ownership of the firm’s checkpoint agonists to treat autoimmune diseases.
