Date: 2014-07-31
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: anti-inflammatory peptides
Company: Isis Innovation (UK) University of Oxford (UK) Rogne Bioscience (USA - CA)
Therapeutic area: Autoimmune diseases - Dermatological diseases
Type agreement:
Action mechanism: The peptides are derived from the plasma protein chemerin and work by reducing the production of cytokines which play a central role in the body\'s response to infection and injury. The peptides inhibit activated antigen presenting cells by reducing the production of inflammatory cytokines including IL-12/23, TNFalpha, RANTES, IL-6 and IL-1beta.
Disease: psoriasis
Details: * On July 31, 2014, Rogne Bioscience, a privately-held biotechnology company based in San Francisco Bay Area, has acquired a licence to anti-inflammatory peptides from Isis Innovation, the University of Oxford\'s commercialisation company. The anti-inflammatory activity of the peptides was discovered by Professor David Greaves at the University of Oxford\'s Sir William Dunn School of Pathology. Rogen Bioscience, which has raised over $1.5 million in seed financing, is developing a first-in-class, topical biologic to address the unmet need for a safe, effective, non-steroidal treatment for patients with mild to moderate psoriasis.
Tom Gadek, CEO of Rogne, said: \"In Rogne\'s feasibility studies, we have been able to verify the anti-inflammatory activity of the peptide that was first published by Professor Greaves\' lab. We have also demonstrated that the peptide can be formulated to penetrate human skin and, when applied topically, inhibits dermal inflammation in a dose-dependent manner in mice. We plan to complete a clinical proof of concept study to demonstrate activity in psoriasis patients.\" Professor Greaves said: \"Because the peptide will be applied to the skin, we expect to avoid the side-effects which trouble patients who use current injected or oral psoriasis drugs. Our peptide is also derived from a protein which is produced naturally by the human body and appears to play a role as the body\'s own off-switch for inflammation.
Isis has granted Rogne an exclusive, world-wide licence to the associated patents.The initial work in Professor Greaves\' lab investigating inflammation was funded by the British Heart Foundation in the context of possible novel anti-inflammatory treatments for cardiovascular disease.
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