Nktr-358 - Oh Sh*t, Eli Lilly Invests In New Drug For Regulation Of T-regs

[macaroni]

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[MrV88]

Eli Lilly, dropping $150M upfront for a drug that regulates T-Reg activity. Lots of potential here - if, like me, you believe Androgenetic Alopecia is an autoimmune disease, then this new drug should give you some hope for a new type of treatments altogether. Eli Lilly is valued at $86B and generates revenues of $22B / yr. It is the 243rd largest public company in the world. If this type of drug can have any impact on hairloss, we should all be super excited that Eli Lilly saw enough potential to drop $150M on helping to get it to market.

http://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotec...to-phase-1-drug-broad-immune-and-inflammatory

"The data suggest NKTR-358 preferentially increases the number and activity of Tregs without having a significant effect on non-Tregs. And that it suppresses antigen-driven inflammation in mice and primates.

This is significant for patients with autoimmune diseases as these conditions are associated with depleted numbers or activity of Tregs. The lack of effective Tregs means immune regulation is weakened, leading to autoimmunity."

Now this article does not claim that NKTR-358 would be effective or even designed for hairloss treatment, but the reason i'm personally excited is that recent studies linked T-Reg dysfunction to hairloss (see here: https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2017/05/407121/new-hair-growth-mechanism-discovered). The article does claim that NKTR-358 "may treat an array of immune disorders by fixing the underlying regulatory dysfunction"

This thing is not even in phase 1 testing, but i am f*****g excited about it. Who's with me?

Would take years to get to the market and the question is if it will really be successful and get through all the phases. Wouldn't be hyped too much at the moment because of the quite early phase. Still hope that we can get as many treatments as possible .

 

[Trouse]

My excitement for this investment is tepid at best, but thanks for digging and finding the info. Hair loss research is a dystopian reality but hearing about medical progress and investments in bio-tech in general helps quell the continual disappointment - at least temporarily.

 

[pegasus2]

It's good to see it being pursued, but it's not going to do us any good. Even if it helps hair loss it will be too late for us

 

[InBeforeTheCure]

Another fantastic new treatment for alopecia areata.

 

[NewUser]

Excellent find, macaroni! HF is the most accessible organ in our bodies for gene therapy and-or drug therapy. Geneticist Angela Christiano is probably right when said the most effective and least expensive cure will eventually be an OTC topical or cream.

We Now Have The First Evidence That Immune Cells in The Skin Directly Trigger Hair Growth Science Alert, May 2017

"Our hair follicles are constantly recycling: when a hair falls out, a portion of the hair follicle has to grow back," senior researcher Michael Rosenblum said in a press statement.

"This has been thought to be an entirely stem cell-dependent process, but it turns out Tregs are essential."

 

[hanginginthewire]

My excitement for this investment is tepid at best, but thanks for digging and finding the info. Hair loss research is a dystopian reality but hearing about medical progress and investments in bio-tech in general helps quell the continual disappointment - at least temporarily.

Yes to the dystopia. Every day I feel like the protagonist in a Kafka novel.