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.