In August 2020, Johnson & Johnson paid $6.5 billion cash to acquire Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. That strengthened J&J’s immune-mediated disease portfolio and grew its interest in autoantibody-driven disease therapies by bringing nipocalimab into the fold. Now the investment is paying off with top-line results of phase II and III studies that hit their primary endpoints using the fully human glycosylated monoclonal antibody targeting the human neonatal Fc receptor. The studies were in treating generalized myasthenia gravis and in Sjögren’s disease.
Previous research has shown that the three isoforms of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) have distinct cellular expression patterns, with TGF-β2 and TGF-β3 expression being specifically elevated in human fibrotic lung and liver tissue. Since pan-TGF-β inhibition had proven to be toxic for chronic use, in recent work, researchers from Genentech Inc. aimed to assess whether specifically targeting one of the TGF-β isoforms could represent a novel therapeutic option for patients with chronic fibrotic disorders.
Japanese researchers have presented data from the biggest Asian genome-wide association study (GWAS) regarding susceptibility loci for systemic sclerosis (SSc), comprising a total of 1,428 cases and 112,599 controls and with an imputation reference panel containing more than 3,000 Japanese whole-genome sequencing data.
Graviton Bioscience Corp. has announced a strategic investment from Sanofi SA. Under the agreement, Sanofi receives a right of first negotiation to license compounds across various indications, including immunological and metabolic syndrome indications.
Cgenetech (Suzhou, China) Co. Ltd. has synthesized tyrosine-protein kinase JAK2 inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, myeloproliferative diseases and graft-versus-host disease.
A company focused on regulating immune response through nanoparticle technology, Cour Pharmaceuticals Development Co. Inc. has raised $105 million in a series A round to move its lead autoimmune disease products into phase IIa trials.
After raising $20 million in a series B round in December 2022, Aravax Pty Ltd. has raised another $22 million to close out its series B round with $42 million that expands the syndicate with new investors Novartis Venture Fund, Breakthrough Victoria, Uniseed, Unisuper, and Agati Capital. The funds will take the company’s peanut allergy immunotherapy, PVX-108, through phase II trials.
After raising $20 million in a series B round in December 2022, Aravax Pty Ltd. has raised another $22 million to close out its series B round with $42 million that expands the syndicate with new investors Novartis Venture Fund, Breakthrough Victoria, Uniseed, Unisuper, and Agati Capital. The funds will take the company’s peanut allergy immunotherapy, PVX-108, through phase II trials.
When a cell is invaded by a virus, the cell triggers an innate immune response by activating retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) like receptors (RLRs), among others, that are essential for controlling viral replication. Even though several ubiquitin ligases (E3) have been identified to positively or negatively regulate RLRs post-translationally, the E3 ligases directly involved in RLR transcription are still unknown. A screening including 375 ubiquitin E3 ligases identified E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase UBR5 as a positive regulator of RLR transcription.
IMU Biosciences Ltd. has raised £11.5 million (US$14.7 million) in a series A round to further develop and commercialize profiling technology that can identify from a blood sample which of more than 2,000 cell types are present in an individual’s immune system.
RSS
