Immetas, GC Biopharma Partner on mRNA Therapeutics to Treat Autoimmune Diseases

Immetas Therapeutics and GC Biopharma have entered into a research collaboration to discover and develop novel mRNA therapeutics for the treatment of a broad range of autoimmune diseases. The collaboration combines Immetas’ platform for modulating innate immune pathways with GC Biopharma’s messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutic and lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery platforms.

Immetas will be responsible for identifying therapeutic targets, generating, and characterizing payload molecules, defining disease indications, and creating translational and clinical development strategies. GC Biopharma will be responsible for the design and manufacture mRNA constructs for payload expression, selection of LNP and delivery formulations, and characterization of the combination product candidates. Both companies will jointly conduct subsequent development activities.

Immetas’ approach is based on selective modulation of inflammasomes, key sensors and mediators of the innate immune pathway. Inflammasomes have been well characterized in chronic disorders involving multiple body systems, however, current inflammasome inhibitors to date have shown poor selectivity and presented safety challenges. Immetas has established a platform that has generated novel therapeutic molecules targeting various components in the pathway with a high level of selectivity compared with traditional inhibitors to this structurally conserved family. The selection of modality, expression, and delivery to optimize treatment outcome are determined by spatial and temporal requirement to effectively disrupt distinct disease biology in each condition. GC Biopharma’s mRNA/LNP approach is one of two delivery platforms Immetas is leveraging.

“Immetas is pursuing an innovative approach to treating autoimmune diseases based on recent scientific advances in inflammation research and emerging technologies to target critical components in chronic inflammation pathways,” said Jae Uk Jeong, executive vice president and head of R&D at GC Biopharma. “With our expertise in mRNA and nanoparticle delivery, this agreement allows us to jointly explore multiple projects with potential to make substantial improvements in the treatments offered to patients with autoimmune disorders.”

J. Gene Wang, co-founder, and CEO of Immetas Therapeutics, said, “As a leading global pharmaceutical company focused on hematologic and rare diseases, GC Biopharma has built a powerful mRNA/LNP platform that is well suited for accessing innate immune pathways to treat chronic inflammation-mediated disorders. Immetas has generated a comprehensive toolbox to modulate inflammasome activity by targeting multiple pathway mediators with various modalities. Our combined efforts offer the potential to generate a new class of therapeutics for chronic inflammation-mediated disorders with a high level of specificity and precision.”