Argos Therapeutics, a company pioneering new approaches in immunotherapy, has entered into an agreement with California-based Beckman Coulter granting Argos exclusive therapeutic use rights for the soluble protein, CD83, including use as a therapy for autoimmune disorders and transplant rejection.
The patented therapeutic use of CD83 was initially filed by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Beckman Coulter then gained license to it and under the latest agreement, retains rights to develop CD83 within the field of diagnostics.
"As a complement to our dendritic cell-based immunotherapeutic programs, this agreement allows us to advance our CD83 development activities based on its novel immunosuppressive properties," Jeff Abbey, vice president of business development for Argos Therapeutics said adding, "At the same time, Argos continues to develop immunotherapies in the oncology and infectious disease markets, as these areas represent significant unmet therapeutic needs."
According to the company release, researchers working with Argos at the University of Erlangen in Erlangen, Germany, discovered that CD83 is an effective immunosuppressant and able to inhibit paralysis in a model of multiple sclerosis in both an active and pre-treatment setting. In contrast to other immunosuppressive agents, this soluble protein can target auto-agressive immune responses without the need for chronic administration and without suppressing the entire immune system. Preliminary data also suggests that CD83 may have clinical utility in the treatment of transplantation rejection and autoimmune diabetes.
In support of this technology platform, Dr. Robert Zhong, Canada Research Chair in Transplantation and Experimental Surgery at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, stated, "CD83 is a very promising agent to inhibit dendritic cells and this novel approach provides great potential to prevent organ rejection and to induce tolerance, thereby eliminating side effects of long-term use of anti-rejection drugs."
Autoimmune disorders include a variety of painful conditions in which an individual's immune system attacks its own cells, mistaking them as invaders. The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association indicates that approximately 20 per cent of Americans suffer from autoimmune diseases, and some 75 per cent of those affected are women.