Asphelia Pharmaceuticals Inc.
This article was originally published in Start Up
Executive Summary
In an era of high-tech medicine, of painstakingly designed molecular inhibitors and personalized medicine driven by genetic responses to drugs, Asphelia Pharmaceuticals is placing its bets on a primitive technology: intestinal worms, known as helminthes. Helminthes release proteins that boost the activity of regulatory T-cells, and the antigens they produce appear to influence a variety of targets. Asphelia is developing helminthes as an oral treatment for Crohn's and other autoimmune diseases. Also in the company's pipeline, a novel oral compound that targets integrins in order to treat immunological and inflammatory disorders.
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A preview of the emerging health care companies profiled in the current issue of Start-Up. This month's profile group, "Start-Ups Against Inflammation," features profiles of Asphleia Pharmaceuticals, Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, ProtAb Ltd., and Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals. Plus these Start-Ups Across Health Care: CG Therapeutics, Healionics, Mpathy Medical Devices and Pronostics.
Start-Ups Against Inflammation
Inflammation plays a part in a wide range of diseases across a broad spectrum of markets, including the huge and already crowded, like rheumatoid arthritis; the difficult to navigate, like Crohn's disease; and the emerging, like atherosclerosis. Start-ups looking to compete in inflammation can boost their chances of success by focusing on niche indications or on drug targets with broad applicability, and thus attract the attention of in-licensers or acquirers. In this issue, we profile four young companies hoping to prove the worth of their technologies to investors and partners alike.
Calistoga Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Formed around a preclinical program licensed from Icos, Calistoga Pharmaceuticals Inc. is developing multiple small-molecule inhibitors of the phosphoinositide-3 kinase pathway, a hot area in inflammation. Calistoga is targeting the PI3K delta isoform. Its initial clinical indications are hematological malignancies, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis. A Phase I trial of CAL-101, an orally available, small-molecule inhibitor for inflammatory disease and cancer, is currently underway.