A new pre-clinical product candidate from Noxopharm Ltd (ASX:NOX, OTC:NOXOF)’s Sofra™ technology platform, known as SOF-XX, has shown to be effective against inflammatory skin disease in pre-clinical models.
The biotech company presented results from a study in partnership with Melbourne’s Hudson Institute of Medical Research at the 15th International Congress on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (LUPUS 2023), currently being held in Seoul, showing the new drug emerging as a promising new class of therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and lupus.
Notably, the results act as pre-clinical proof of concept for Noxopharm’s SOF-VAC™ mRNA vaccine enhancer, which shares the same underlying Sofra technology as SOF-XX.
Unique solution
Some autoimmune diseases, including lupus and psoriasis, involve the overactivation of an immune sensor known as Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7).
When SOF-XX was applied topically via a gel to a mouse model with skin inflammation, it blocked TLR7 activity and prevented the development of skin scaling and redness.
According to Noxopharm, there are currently no approved therapeutic inhibitors of TLR7 on the market, making SOF-XX a unique solution for an urgent unmet need.
“This research demonstrates the effectiveness of the Sofra platform at reducing inflammation, which means we can target various diseases as well as use the same underlying technology to enhance mRNA vaccines,” Noxopharm chief executive officer Dr Gisela Mautner said.
“Being selected to present this research to an international audience helps us gain more attention as interest in the technology grows.”
Billion-dollar market
The global immunology market is projected to grow from US$92 billion in 2021 to US$158 billion in 2028.
Autoimmune diseases are on average two times more prevalent in females than males, while lupus is nine times more prevalent in females, research show.
About 14-24 million individuals suffer from autoimmune diseases in the US alone, while an estimated 20,000 patients have lupus in Australia.
On course
Noxopharm is also investigating the potential for Sofra oligonucleotides to limit the inflammatory side effects associated with mRNA therapeutics and vaccines.
“Our research is heavily focused on treating autoimmune diseases at their source, and studies such as this demonstrate we are on the right track," Hudson Institute Associate Professor Michael Gantier said.
“The ability of the oligonucleotides to reduce inflammation in this way opens up new possibilities for the treatment of many diseases.”