Merck Teams With Lycera In Second Autoimmune Deal
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
The Michigan-based biotech says the latest discovery and development deal with Merck is validation of its ongoing work with the Big Pharma in the field of autoimmune diseases.
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Lycera Corp.
Lycera Corp. develops small-molecule immunomodulators. Its lead benzodiazapene-based compounds have shown efficacy in animal models of lupus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and transplant rejection. Lycera also recently acquired a program targeting the TH17 pathway, which controls production of IL-17, a pro-inflammatory cytokine increasingly considered critical to inflammation and autoimmune disease.