Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG and Immunitas Therapeutics Inc. have signed a global licensing agreement for a preclinical antibody program being developed for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals GmbH (AOP Health) has established a strategic partnership with VRG Therapeutics Zrt to advance a novel Kv1.3 potassium channel inhibitor for use in inflammation and immunology indications.

In a deal potentially worth up to $15.2 billion, Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. is joining efforts with Bristol Myers Squibb Co. to advance 13 early development programs in the fields of oncology, hematology and immunology. Shanghai-based Hengrui will hold exclusive rights in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, while Princeton, N.J.-based BMS will hold exclusive rights in the rest of the world. The deal includes four oncology/hematology assets from Hengrui, four immunology assets from BMS, and five assets that the two companies will jointly discover and develop.

A new mRNA and lipid nanoparticle (mRNA-LNP) platform could selectively reprogram in vivo cytotoxic effector T cells (Teff), the cells responsible for eliminating infected or tumor cells. To achieve this, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania conjugated LNPs with fractalkine, a molecule that binds to the CX3CR1 receptor, which is a marker of Teff cells. Using this strategy, the researchers delivered an mRNA encoding new proteins such as IL‑2 or human CD62 L‑selectin, opening the door to temporarily reprogramming these cells within the body, both in the blood and in lymphoid tissue, where they reside and become activated.

A new mRNA and lipid nanoparticle (mRNA-LNP) platform could selectively reprogram in vivo cytotoxic effector T cells (Teff), the cells responsible for eliminating infected or tumor cells. To achieve this, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania conjugated LNPs with fractalkine, a molecule that binds to the CX3CR1 receptor, which is a marker of Teff cells. Using this strategy, the researchers delivered an mRNA encoding new proteins such as IL‑2 or human CD62 L‑selectin, opening the door to temporarily reprogramming these cells within the body, both in the blood and in lymphoid tissue, where they reside and become activated.

Raising $279 million in an IPO and another $25 million in a concurrent private placement, Odyssey Therapeutics Inc. is advancing its lead phase II asset, OD-001, in ulcerative colitis, with plans to bring its SLC15A4 program into the clinic for lupus.

Climb Bio Inc. outlined May 5 an enticing data spill ahead this year with Fc-enhanced monoclonal antibody budoprutug (budo) in autoimmune diseases. Mizuho analyst Joseph Catanzaro appreciated in his report Wellesley Hills, Mass.-based Climb’s “conviction that CD19 represents a best-in-class pan-B-cell depletion target across antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases – a relative white space for conventional mAbs.”

Conventional mouse models are not susceptible to hepatitis A virus (HAV) because murine adaptor protein MAVS is not efficiently cleaved by HAV protease precursors, so intact type I interferon (IFN) signaling blocks productive infection. However, IFN receptor knockout (KO) mice are susceptible to HAV infection and show hallmark features of the infection, having recently been identified as a potential disease model. Researchers from Genematrix Inc. aimed to determine whether nonclinical efficacy studies can be performed in small animal models.

Parcelbio has raised $13 million in seed financing to continue its development of a new class of potent and durable mRNA medicines. The financing will support development of Parcelbio’s proprietary APEXm (Amplified and Prolonged EXpression mRNA) platform and advance its pipeline, including its lead in vivo CAR T program for autoimmune disease.