Near the start of August 2022, biotechnology company Inmagene Biopharmaceuticals (“Inmagene”) and biopharmaceutical company HUTCHMED shared via news release that the first participant had been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical study. Within the study, researchers are evaluating the safety, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles, and tolerability of IMG-004 in healthy participants. Altogether, the therapy is being developed as a potential therapeutic option for patients with a wide variety of immunological diseases. An estimated 74 participants will enroll in the trial.
What is IMG-004?
To begin, let’s take a look at exactly what IMG-004 is. IMG-004 is an orally administered, reversible, small molecule Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor. A 2017 article published in Frontiers in Immunology explains that BTK:
was initially discovered as a critical mediator of B cell receptor signaling in the development and functioning of adaptive immunity. Growing evidence also suggests multiple roles of BTK in mononuclear cells of the innate immune system, especially in dendritic cells and macrophages.
BTK has also been implicated in oncogenic signaling which helps cancerous cells proliferate and survive in patients with oncologic malignancies.
In this particular case, Inmagene is developing IMG-004 for patients with inflammatory, autoimmune, and immune-mediated diseases. Initially discovered by HUTCHMED, IMG-004 is now being explored as a potential therapy for conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or ankylosing spondylitis (AS).
What are immunological diseases?
Nature explains that immunological disorders are:
diseases or conditions caused by a dysfunction of the immune system and include allergy, asthma, autoimmune diseases, autoinflammatory syndromes and immunological deficiency syndromes.
Johns Hopkins Medicine explains a bit further, describing that an immunological condition may be caused by primary immune deficiencies, acquired immune deficiencies, an overactive immune system, or an immune system which mistakenly attacks the body. Examples of immunological diseases or disorders include:
- Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)
- HIV/AIDS
- Asthma
- Eczema
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
- Lupus
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
- DiGeorge syndrome
- Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome
