IN-A1
Current Status: Pre-clinical development
At Heat Biologics, we have developed the first drug that targets the induction phase of asthma, at a time before any airway damage has occurred and before any symptoms have developed. Inhibicor is a novel, antibody-based, therapy that targets a protein expressed on the surface of a variety of immune cells including antigen presenting cells and natural killer T cells. This protein, known as TL1A, is important for the activation of effector T cells and natural killer T cells in a variety of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases including asthma, inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis. In order for these effector T cells and natural killer T cells to receive a signal from TL1A expressed by antigen presenting cells, they must express the receptor for TL1A, TNFRSF25/DR3, on their extracellular membranes. In a series of in vitro studies, scientists at Heat Biologics have demonstrated that Inhibicor effectively binds to TL1A and prevents it from being able to interact with TNFRSF25.
About Asthma
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in which many immune cell types play a role, in particular tissue mast cells, circulating eosinophils and T lymphocytes. The cascade of events that leads to symptoms can be separated into an induction/triggering phase and an effector/symptomatic phase. In susceptible individuals, this inflammation causes recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and cough, particularly at night and/or in the early morning. These symptoms are usually associated with airflow limitation that is at least partly reversible either spontaneously or with treatment. Despite the fact that lasting airway damage can occur prior to the symptomatic phase of asthma, all currently available treatments target the symptoms of asthma rather than the causes.
According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), approximately 7% of Americans currently suffer from asthma. Both prevalence and mortality rates have continued to rise since 1982. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) note that 13.6 million physician office visits are for treatment of asthma, and 497,000 hospital admissions, plus 1.8 million emergency visits, are attributed to this disease. Approximately 5 million asthmatics are under the age of 18 and there are nearly 5,000 deaths from asthma annually. Despite the prevalence and significant medical and economic consequences of asthma, relatively few novel therapies have been introduced in the last 10 years. Importantly, there are no currently available therapies that treat asthma at a stage which precedes lasting airway damage.
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