DeepCure to Present In Vivo Efficacy and Safety Data of BRD4 (BD2) Inhibitor DC-9476 for Macrophage Activation Syndrome at EMBO Conference
17 Septiembre 2024 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
DeepCure, a therapeutics company using AI to discover novel
drugs for inflammation and immune diseases, today announced it will
present early safety and efficacy data for their BRD4 (BD2)
Inhibitor DC-9476 for macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) at the
European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) 2024 Conference,
held September 24–27 in Germany.
MAS is a potentially fatal condition that occurs in about 15% of
patients with juvenile Still’s disease (also known as systemic
juvenile idiopathic arthritis) and adult-onset Still’s disease. The
clinical features of MAS include hematological depression of
platelets, white blood cells (especially neutrophils) and red blood
cells, and organ failure, leading to death in up to 20% of
patients. There is an unmet need for novel treatments to replace or
complement glucocorticoids, which are the current standard of care
for MAS.
Details of the presentation:
Poster Title: Novel, Selective BRD4 (BD2) Inhibitor DC-9476
demonstrates activity in a model of Macrophage Activation Syndrome,
a hyperinflammatory disease caused by inflammasome activation
Date: September 24, 6:15 – 9:00 pm (local time)
Presenter: Dr. Georg Duenstl, Vice President of Drug Discovery,
DeepCure
DeepCure showed that its investigational candidate DC-9476
blocked MAS disease development in the CPG-induced animal model of
MAS. DC-9476 was superior to the glucocorticoid (dexamethasone) in
restoring the white blood cell count to almost normal levels and
decreasing serum ferritin, which is a major diagnostic biomarker
for MAS. DC-9476 blocked MAS disease development by direct
inhibition of macrophage activation, and this had broad activity
causing a decrease in the production on (IL)-1β, IL-18 and other
MAS-related cytokines such as IL-6 and IFN-gamma. This activity is
differentiated from non-selective BRD4 (BD2) inhibitors and current
approved therapies that narrowly act on the downstream inflammasome
and cytokines. In contrast to non-selective BRD4 (BD2) inhibitors
that are known to cause low platelet levels, DC-9476 did not
further decrease platelet levels in the MAS model.
“Our selective BRD4 (BD2) inhibitor, DC-9476, demonstrates a
potentially new strategy to treat MAS by directly inhibiting
macrophage activation,” said Kfir Schreiber, CEO & Co-Founder
of DeepCure. “We’re excited to present our preclinical data for the
first time and plan to advance DC-9476 to clinical trials as a
potential therapy for patients with this serious and
difficult-to-treat disease, as well as patients with underlying
Still’s disease.”
About DeepCure
DeepCure is a therapeutics company focused on advancing novel
drugs with the potential to transform the treatment of inflammation
and autoimmune diseases. The company was founded by researchers at
MIT to accelerate breakthrough therapies using artificial
intelligence (AI) and AI-enabling technologies for small molecule
discovery. The company is based in Boston, MA, and its engineers,
chemists, and biologists collaborate to find solutions to hard
problems that will have an enormous impact on patient health. For
more information, visit www.deepcure.ai.
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Media Kimberly Ha KKH Advisors
kimberly.ha@kkhadvisors.com 917-291-5744