Wyeth joins search for promising TLR drugs
pharmafile | February 15, 2006 | News story | Research and Development |Â Â Â
A new collaboration between Wyeth and an Irish biotech company is to investigate the potential of 'toll like receptors', which researchers believe could hold the key to treating diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer.
Wyeth is to work with Dublin-based Opsona Therapeutics to develop medicines to target toll like receptors (TLRs), an area of research considered to be one of the most promising in pharma today.
TLRs are a group of receptors which act as the body's first line of defence, but which are also thought to play a role in a wide range of diseases, including autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.
Wyeth markets blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis treatment Enbrel, and will be looking for a TLR-based drug which could prove even more effective in treating this disease and others.
"Opsona looks forward to working together with Wyeth which is a world-leader in the development of new treatments for inflammation," said Mark Heffernan chief executive of Opsona. "This collaboration is a key milestone for Opsona and provides validation of the science around the TLRs."
But Wyeth and Opsona are not alone in recognising the potential of TLRs, and a number of similar projects are already underway around the world.
One of the leading companies in the field of TLR research is US-based Coley Pharmaceuticals, which is developing TLR-based drugs to treat asthma, hepatitis and cancer, as well as vaccines for cancer.
The company's researchers are working with a number of pharma companies including Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, Chiron, GlaxoSmithKline and the US government.
Coley's most advanced TLR candidate is a treatment for non-small cell lung cancer, which has been in-licensed by Pfizer and entered phase III development last November.
Wyeth's collaboration with Opsona is also significant for the development of Ireland's pharmaceutical sector. Already the world's greatest manufacturer and exporter of pharmaceuticals, investment in the country from Wyeth and others is now expanding into R&D.
Opsona's chairman Cormac Kilty is also chairman of the Irish Bioindustry Association, and he welcomed the new partnership for the company and for research in Ireland.
"The scientific expertise of Opsona coupled with the capabilities of Wyeth is a great combination for drug discovery and development to bring new drugs into the clinic for the treatment of these disabling diseases. This collaboration also reaffirms Wyeth's continued investment in the Irish biotechnology sector," he said.
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