Borean Pharma A/S of Aarhus, Denmark, announced that its proprietary C-Type Lectin Domain (CTLD)–derived trimeric tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) antagonist demonstrated a dose-dependent slowing of polyarthritis disease progression in transgenic mice expressing human TNF-a. 

These findings have emerged from the company's ongoing research into the use of antibody analogues selected from recombinant libraries comprising variants of the CTLD of the human protein tetranectin.

The magnitude of the effect was equivalent to that observed for the TNF-a inhibitor infliximab (Remicade^â). This preclinical validation of a candidate therapy derived from Borean's proprietary recombinant libraries represents the first proof of concept of the company's CTLD approach to generating antibody analogues that can be cost-effectively produced in Escherichia coli. 

Borean says that it has already established the basic biosafety, pharmacokinetics, and tissue distribution profile for its CTLD-derived products in preclinical trials and intends to file an investigational new drug (IND) application with the US Food and Drug Administration for its TNF-a antagonist in rheumatoid arthritis.

—A. Techman