Cytokine for treating autoimmune diseases ready for partnering

PharmaLinks, a business dedicated to commercialising pharmaceutical research carried out at the universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde in Scotland, is looking for a development partner for an immunosuppressive cytokine with therapeutic potential in inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, COPD and arteriosclerosis.

The researchers believe the compound could be appropriate for treating people with autoimmune diseases who do not respond to the current generation of  anti-tumour necrosis factor-alpha drugs.

The research team, led by Foo Liew of the University of Glasgow’s department of immunology, infection and inflammation, discovered the new cytokine, 11-38, a member of the interleukin 12 (IL-12) family.

11-38 acts by increasing the number of regulatory T-cells, which could combat autoimmune diseases that cause inflammation. These diseases occur when the body’s immune system fails to distinguish between its own cells and those of a foreign organism and ‘attacks’ its own cells. T-cells suppress activation of the immune system, restoring internal tolerance of the body’s own cells.

In animal models 11-38 has been shown to be effective in treating arthritis and asthma in. PharmaLinks has cloned and expressed human 11-38 in vitro, in stable genetically modified cell lines. The cytokine can be purified to a high degree in the laboratory, bringing therapeutic applications of the cytokine closer.

Further research is required into 11-38’ mechanism of action. This will be followed by Phase I clinical trials in RA and asthma in the university’s own facility.  The protein, its mechanism and applications are subject to an international patent application.