Oxford: Therapeutic antibodies to treat autoimmune disease

Licensing opportunity

Isis Innovation, Oxford University’s tech transfer company, is seeking to license therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. This antibody technology modulates the phosphorylation state of the inhibitory components of membrane receptors present on immune cells that contribute to autoimmune disease progression, such as auto-reactive T cells.

Oxford’s therapeutic antibody technology relies on binding of the antibody to components of membrane proximal receptors on immune cells to maintain tyrosine kinase-mediated phosphorylation and disrupt tyrosine phosphatase-induced dephosphorylation, so enhancing receptor signalling and reducing the activation of auto-reactive T cells. Maintenance of receptor dephosphorylation would otherwise result in maintained auto-reactive T cell activation and autoimmune disease progression.

Research at Oxford has led to the identification of PD-1, a receptor which is upregulated on activated T and B cells during ongoing inflammatory responses and chronic viral infections. PD-1 is the main target for Oxford’s therapeutic antibody technology as several antibodies bind to it and inhibit auto-reactive T cells in vitro and in vivo. Data presenting the effects of these antibodies in a knock-in model of systemic lupus erythmatosus will be available in 2009.