Alcamena

Aging is a complex process often characterized by a chronic low-grade inflammation. This chronic pro-inflammatory state is associated with dysregulation of innate immunity and persistent prolonged inflammation occurring even in the absence infection. Older individuals (55 +) have chronically elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines. Addressing these sources of chronic inflammation may lead to therapeutic applications not only for the individual inflammatory diseases but the aging process itself. Peptide therapeutic technology has now made addressing these sources of chronic inflammation a reality. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is one of the major proinflammatory interleukins elevated with aging. Currently, there are no small molecule drugs available for IL-6 pathway. These drugs are attractive because of their excellent bioavailability, but they have significant drawbacks due to their off-target side effects.?Therapeutic antibodies against the IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) are used against arthritis and are very specific but they can result in the development of neutralizing antibodies leading to treatment unresponsiveness and complications such as intestinal perforation (e.g., in patients with Crohn's disease) and bacterial infections.?A better, clinically useful, drug is needed. ? Peptide drugs have emerged as an exciting new therapeutic option as they have many advantages over small molecule and antibody-based therapeutics. Compared to small molecules, they exhibit higher specificity and lower toxicity. Compared to antibodies, they have better organ and tumor penetration, lower production cost and lower immunogenicity. ? At Alcamena, we are at the forefront of peptide therapeutic discovery and we have developed a peptide antagonist of IL-6 which effectively inhibits its function in vitro and in vivo. Application of this peptide alleviates psoriasis in the humanized animal model, validating its anti-inflammatory properties and demonstrating its potential as a therapeutic agent for a host of inflammatory-related disorders including arthritis, Crohn’s disease, Castleman disease and possibly aging itself. ? For more information on our anti-IL-6 peptide, please check our recent paper: https://lnkd.in/g3zzvHvF

Transform protein into a bioactive peptide ? At Alcamena we’ve developed a novel peptide discovery technology based on simultaneous identification and optimization of residues crucial for protein-protein interactions and ligand binding which makes it possible to now transform protein into a bioactive peptide. We have successfully validated our technology by selecting peptide antagonists of interleukin-6 (IL-6). ? For more information, please check our recent paper: https://lnkd.in/g3zzvHvF