Granite Bio AG has emerged from stealth with $100 million in series A and B funding and a focus on developing first-in-class antibodies that target the root causes of a variety of inflammatory, autoimmune and fibrotic conditions.
Repertoire Immune Medicines Inc. has entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Genentech Inc., a member of the Roche Group, to discover and develop innovative T cell-targeted immune medicines to treat an autoimmune disease. Repertoire will use its Decode platform, which maps the immune synapse, to discover novel therapeutic targets.
Writing in Scientific Reports, researchers from the Stiftung Tieraerztliche Hochschule Hannover and collaborators present the design and evaluation of an artificial poly-epitope sequence comprising 20 potentially immunogenic conserved influenza A virus CD8+ T cell epitopes as a new vaccine candidate.
Aclaris Therapeutics Inc. has gained IND clearance from the FDA for ATI-052, a bispecific anti-thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP)/interleukin-4 receptor (IL-4R) monoclonal antibody being developed to treat certain immuno-inflammatory diseases. A phase Ia/Ib trial, including a proof-of-concept portion in an undisclosed indication, will begin in the current quarter.
After more than three years of discussion, the World Health Organization’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) has agreed on a proposal to prevent, prepare and respond to a pandemic. The plan is born, the INB proposal said, out of inequities around the world that slowed timely and equitable access to health products to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
China’s National Medical Products Administration has given the thumbs up to Akeso Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s ebdarokimab for treating moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults. An interleukin (IL)-12/IL-23 dual-targeted monoclonal antibody, ebdarokimab (also known as AK-101) is the company's first class 1 new drug approved for autoimmune diseases.
CC chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6) is a G-protein coupled receptor involved in guiding immune cells through the body and the hallmark receptor for T helper 17 (Th17) cells, and is also expressed in other immune cell populations, such as B cells and innate lymphoid cells, among others.
Watchers of the percolating myasthenia gravis space are waiting eagerly for data from Dianthus Therapeutics Inc.’s phase II Magic study testing DNTH-103, an active C1s inhibitor, compared to placebo in patients with anti-AChR-positive generalized disease.
Earendil Labs will collaborate with Sanofi SA in a $1.8 billion license deal. Earendil, which specializes in artificial intelligence-based R&D for biologics, is getting $125 million up front and $50 million as a near-term payment. In return, Sanofi gets the exclusive global rights to the bispecific antibodies HXN-1002 and HXN-1003.