The axolotl, which can regenerate many of its body parts, was the inspiration for Walking Fish Therapeutics Inc., which just closed on a $50 million series A financing to advance its B-cell therapies for oncology, rare disease, regenerative medicine, autoimmune disease and recombinant antibody production.
A Chinese study has shown that the recently discovered transcription factor Bach2, which is important in B-cell development and progression of inflammatory disease, also regulates gastrointestinal regeneration by facilitating DNA repair after ionizing radiation exposure.
Be Biopharma Inc. is looking to develop engineered B cells to treat a wide range of diseases. The new category of cellular medicine is based on the work of David Rawlings and Richard James, researchers at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and the University of Washington.
