BGU and Teva Develop New Psoriasis Drug
BGU and Teva Develop New Psoriasis Drug
March 20, 2013
Medical Research, Natural Sciences, Press Releases
BEER-SHEVA, Israel, March 20, 2013 – Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers, in collaboration with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., have developed a promising drug candidate to treat psoriasis. The findings were reported in a new paper published in Chemistry and Biology.
Psoriasis is a chronic, non-contagious disease characterized by inflamed lesions covered with silvery-white scabs of dead skin. An auto-immune disease, psoriasis affects at least four million Americans. It is caused by the disturbance in the natural balance between pro-inflammatory signals and signals that inhibit inflammation.
Dr. Amir Aharoni
One of the key signals involved in the progression of psoriasis is the immune system protein Interleukin 17 (IL-17). The research team developed a method to inhibit IL-17 pro-inflammatory signals and proved that their engineered receptor, IL-17R, is highly effective in reducing IL-17 induced inflammatory signals in mice models. Moreover, injection of the receptor into a mouse model with acute human psoriasis eliminated the symptoms, essentially curing the disease.
“Using directed evolution to improve the properties of the IL-17 receptor, we have created engineered mutants that might prove there is a viable treatment for patients with severe psoriasis that do not respond to current drugs,” explains Dr. Amir Aharoni, one of the researchers in BGU’s Department of Life Sciences and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev.
“Since the directed evolution method can be applied to other receptors involved in autoimmune diseases and cancer, I believe that we are just starting to unravel the potential of this approach,” Aharoni adds.
Directed evolution is an iterative Darwinian optimization process used in protein engineering, whereby the fittest variants are selected from a collection of random mutations. Improved variants are identified and isolated by screening or selection for the property of interest. This approach is particularly advantageous in cases in which no prior knowledge of a protein’s mechanism and structure is available.
The other researchers credited in “Directed Evolution of a Soluble Human IL-17A Receptor for the Inhibition of Psoriasis Plaque Formation in a Mouse Model” are BGU’s Dr. Marianna Zaretsky and Teva researchers Dr. Liora Sklair-Tavron, Dr. Joel Kaye and Revital Etzyoni.
About Teva
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) is a leading global pharmaceutical company, committed to increasing access to high-quality healthcare by developing, producing and marketing affordable generic drugs, as well as innovative and specialty pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Headquartered in Israel, Teva is the world’s leading generic drug maker, with a global product portfolio of more than 1,000 molecules and a direct presence in about 60 countries.
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
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