Kineta receives regulatory clearance to commence ShK-186 Phase I trial in autoimmune disease

Aug 21 2012

Seattle-based biotech company Kineta, Inc. announced today it has received regulatory clearance in the Netherlands to initiate a first-in-human trial of ShK-186, an autoimmune drug candidate that specifically inhibits the Kv1.3 potassium ion channel. Kineta's program is the first Kv1.3-specific inhibitor advanced into the clinic, a key milestone in the industry's race to develop an immune-sparing therapy for a spectrum of diseases that includes Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Lupus (SLE).

Kv1.3 has been a target of industry efforts for its role in instigating activation of effector memory T-cells, which are major mediators of autoimmune disease. Kineta scientific advisor and University of California, Irvine Professor, K. George Chandy M.D., Ph.D. and his collaborators discovered the Kv1.3 channel, and invented ShK-186 by modifying natural sea anemone-derived peptide inhibitors of Kv1.3. By selectively blocking the Kv1.3 channel, ShK-186 can reduce disease symptoms and pathology in animal models of MS, RA, and SLE without broadly suppressing the immune system.

Dr. Tim Coetzee, Chief Research Officer for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, an early supporter of Dr. Chandy's innovative research, commented, "It is particularly gratifying to see research supported by the Society progress to this exciting stage. There is a clear, unmet medical need for new therapies to treat MS that have novel mechanisms of action and may offer freedom from the side effects that accompany broad suppression of the immune system."