Industry News: TxCell Announces Peer-Reviewed Publication of Preclinical Efficacy Results for Col-Treg in Autoimmune Uveitis in a Leading Ophthalmology Journal

TxCell, a biotechnology company developing innovative, personalized T-cell immunotherapies using antigen specific regulatory T-cells (Ag-Tregs) for severe chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, has announced the publication of preclinical efficacy results for Col-Treg, TxCell’s second therapeutic candidate from its ASTrIA platform, in a model of autoimmune (non-infectious) Uveitis. The results are being published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS), a prominent journal in the field of ophthalmic and vision research.

The publication is entitled “Inhibition of non-infectious Uveitis using intravenous administration of collagen-II specific Type 1 regulatory (Col-Treg) T cells.” The published study evaluated the therapeutic potential of Col-Treg immunotherapy for the treatment of non-infectious Uveitis using in vitro and in vivo assays. Specifically, in vivo administration of Col-Treg in the model of autoimmune Uveitis significantly inhibited clinical symptoms, retinal tissue lesions as well as ocular proinflammatory cell infiltration. In addition, authors dissected the mechanism of action of Col-Treg and showed that cells are using several distinct immune-regulatory pathways to dampen inflammation. The publication will be available in October.

Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS) is an official journal of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), an international organization dedicated to encouraging and assisting research, training, publication, and the dissemination of knowledge in the areas of vision and ophthalmology. Activity and tolerance data for Col-Treg were presented at the 2015 ARVO Annual Meeting, May 3-7, 2015, in Denver, Colorado, US.

Col-Treg is a personalized T cell immunotherapy product, based on the properties of autologous collagen II-specific regulatory T lymphocytes. In addition, Col-Treg has shown very promising preclinical efficacy and tolerability data in models of inflammatory arthritis; Type 1 regulatory T cells specific for collagen, type II as an efficient cell-based therapy in arthritis.

“Following the previous demonstration of Col-Treg preclinical efficacy in models of inflammatory arthritis, these results published in IOVS demonstrate the therapeutic potential of Col-Treg in non-infectious uveitis and will support its ongoing clinical development,” said Arnaud Foussat, Chief Scientific Officer of TxCell. “The support TxCell has seen from the ophthalmologic community provides additional confirmation of the potential of, and requirement for, Col-Treg as a much needed new potential treatment for autoimmune uveitis, a rare and debilitating eye disease with very limited therapeutic options. There are approximately 30,000 autoimmune uveitis patients per year that are refractory to approved steroids treatments in the US and EU alone and this is a clear unmet medical need.”

Col-Treg has been classified as an Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product by the European Medicine Agency (EMA). Col-Treg has also received an Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of non-infectious (autoimmune) Uveitis from the EMA in December 2014. A first-in-man clinical study with Col-Treg for severe autoimmune Uveitis patients that become refractory to steroid compounds, is scheduled to start in 2016.