Autoimmune Diseases - Taming The Enemy Within

Autoimmune diseases are one of the hot targets in the pharma industry. There has been a flurry of activities in this space in recent times. While immunosuppressants and steroids have typically been used to treat these diseases, targeted therapies are advancing. By aiming at specific genes or cells, researchers can boost effectiveness and reduce side effects associated with conventional treatments. Let’s look at some of the advances in the battle against autoimmune diseases:

- Ayesha Siddiqui

Autoimmune diseases affect nearly 4 per cent of the world’s population and there’s a rising prevalence of such diseases, especially in the Asia Pacific region, according to the US-based National Stem Cell Foundation. Pharma firms are spending billions of dollars to find specific treatments for autoimmune diseases. These illnesses are incurable, and the current drugs aid with symptom management.

In a quest to cure these diseases, big pharma firms are expanding their autoimmune portfolios by acquiring smaller firms dedicated to developing therapies for such diseases. In August 2022, US’ Amgen acquired ChemoCentryx for $4 billion. In June 2022, Swiss firm Roivant Sciences and US’ Pfizer launched Priovant Therapeutics, dedicated to developing and commercialising novel therapies for autoimmune diseases with the greatest morbidity and mortality. In 2021, US’ Merck bought Pandion Therapeutics for $2 billion.

Evolving treatments

Over 80 different autoimmune diseases exist. However, the most common ones and the subject of the majority of research and developments are Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Psoriasis, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Diabetes Type 1, Lupus, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

1 in 4 patients do not respond to currently approved medications for RA, so researchers and pharma firms are working on developing newer targeted therapies. Some of the drugs in the late-stage trials include UK-based GlaxoSmithKline’s(GSK) Otilimab, a fully human monoclonal antibody. Israel-based R-Pharm’s Olokizumab and the biosimilar candidate BIIB800 jointly made by US-based Biogen and Chinese biotech company Bio-Thera Solutions are also humanised monoclonal antibodies.