GSK, a large pharmaceutical company, is spending $300 million to buy a new type of drug from Chimagen Biosciences, a company based in Shanghai. This drug is a bispecific antibody that could potentially treat autoimmune diseases like lupus. Currently, the drug is being tested in early-stage trials for cancer in the U.S. and China. It works by targeting two proteins on cell surfaces, CD19 and CD20, which could help eliminate faulty B cells that are involved in autoimmune diseases.
GSK plans to start testing this drug for autoimmune diseases in the next year, once they get regulatory approval for the deal. This move is part of a broader trend in the pharmaceutical industry, where companies are exploring new treatments for autoimmune diseases using drugs typically used for cancer.
Recent academic studies have shown that CAR-T cell therapies, initially used for certain cancers, might also be effective for autoimmune diseases. This has encouraged many companies to explore similar approaches. Now, drugmakers are looking at bispecific antibodies as a potentially simpler way to treat these conditions by bringing immune cells into direct contact with diseased cells.
Chimagen’s drug, called CMG1A46, targets B cells and has a “low affinity” for another immune protein, CD3, which might reduce side effects. GSK’s CFO, Tony Wood, expressed optimism about the drug’s potential to address needs in treating lupus and similar conditions.