Dynavax Reports Progress in Lupus Program With Inhibitor of TLR7 and TLR9
Monday November 26, 4:13 pm ET
Animal Model Shows Disease Progression Can Be Prevented
BERKELEY, Calif., Nov. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In a paper appearing online in the December issue of The European Journal of Immunology (Vol. 37, Issue 12), Dynavax scientists report the results of studies made possible under a grant from the Alliance for Lupus Research (ALR). In the article entitled, "Treatment of lupus-prone mice with a dual inhibitor of TLR7 and TLR9 leads to reduction of autoantibody production and amelioration of disease symptoms", the data show that Dynavax's proprietary IRS 954, a specific inhibitor of two Toll-like receptors, TLR7 and TLR9, can prevent progression of disease when injected in the lupus prone (NZBxNZW)F1 mice. The authors observed a significant reduction of serum levels of nucleic acid specific autoantibodies, the hallmark of systemic lupus erythematosus. IRS 954 treatment also resulted in decreased proteinuria, glomerulonephritis and end-organ damage and increased survival, compared to untreated mice. A copy of the article is posted on dynavax.com.
According to Robert L. Coffman, Ph.D., Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, "These results show that the previously reported ability of IRS 954 to block IFN-alpha translates into reduced symptoms in an animal model of lupus. The data support our hypothesis that blocking both TLR7 and TLR9 in B cells and in human plasmacytoid dendritic cells is a promising new approach for the treatment of lupus. The ability of IRS 954 to specifically intervene in the inappropriate immune signaling cascade that leads to autoimmunity may have application for other autoimmune diseases as well."
IRS 954 represents a novel class of oligonucleotides, named immunoregulatory sequences (IRS), that specifically inhibit the TLR-induced inflammatory response implicated in disease progression in lupus. In 2005, the Alliance for Lupus Research awarded to Dynavax a $500,000 grant to explore new treatment approaches for systemic lupus erythematosus based on the company's novel IRS technology. The grant was the first time ALR had provided funding to a private company.
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