In atopic dermatitis (AD), the itch-scratch cycle is tied to skin inflammation exacerbation that accelerates the progression of the disease, thus impacting the patient’s quality of life, where IL-31 is crucial to induce skin itching. Helixon Ltd. has developed a bispecific antibody targeting both IL-31 and OX40L, HXN-1022, for the treatment of AD.
Innovent Biologics Co. Ltd. presented data for IBI-3034, a chimeric Fc fusion protein comprising transmembrane activator and CAML interactor (TACI) and B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
For 75 years, the standard tools for autoimmune disease have consisted of steroids, cytotoxics and broad biologics that tamp down the entire immune system. They can help, but they are rarely curative. “They’re blunt instruments,” Regcell Inc. CEO Mike McCullar told BioWorld. “They can’t distinguish good immune cells and bad immune cells,” which is why many carry black-box warnings and must be taken for years, sometimes for life.
Kali Therapeutics Inc. has developed a novel T-cell engager (TCE) bispecific antibody, KT-502, targeting CD19 and CD3 for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH and Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd. have announced that Boehringer Ingelheim has licensed a preclinical program from Kyowa Kirin to develop a potential first-in-class, small molecule for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
Interleukin 1 receptor accessory protein (IL1RAP) is a receptor that activates signaling pathways triggered by IL1α/β, IL33 and IL36α/β/γ, which are involved in several autoimmune or inflammatory disorders, including psoriasis, gout or systemic sclerosis. Innovent Biologics Co. Ltd. presented data for their anti-IL1RAP antibody IBI-3011, a fully humanized IgG1 antibody targeting IL1RAP that blocks those pathways.
Zag Bio Inc. came out of stealth mode with $80 million in funding so far, including a recently closed series A financing, to develop its platform for autoimmune diseases using drugs targeted to the thymus where thymic regulatory cells are produced.
University of Basel and NXI Therapeutics AG have jointly patented compounds targeting bromodomain-containing protein 3 (BRD3; RING3-like protein) to inhibit expression of coronin-1. They are described as potentially useful for the treatment of transplant rejection, autoimmune diseases, inflammation, infections and lymphoproliferative disorders.
Dianthus Therapeutics Inc. has joined the recent trend of companies licensing therapies in development from China. The company will pay as much as $1 billion to Nanjing Leads Biolabs Co. Ltd. for DNTH-212, a bifunctional BDCA2 and BAFF/APRIL inhibitor to treat autoimmune disorders. The payment comprises $30 million up front and some near-term milestones, plus an $8 million milestone for getting a phase I study underway. Leads Biolabs is in line to bring in another $962 million in milestones and royalties.
In vaccine development, one might think that targeting multiple epitopes increases the likelihood of improving outcomes. However, when several immunogens are administered together, the immune system does not always generate antibodies against all of them. Two parallel studies have overcome this challenge by using multiple simultaneous immunogens against HIV, effectively triggering various types of broadly neutralizing antibody (bnAb) precursors in two different preclinical animal models.
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