AntlerA Therapeutics, a University of Toronto startup, is transforming the science and development of regenerative medicine therapies
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- AntlerA is leveraging a precision-engineered programmable Wnt pathway agonist platform to develop drugs that address large unmet needs in the regenerative medicine area.
AntlerA's technology platform is based on a decade long research activity conducted by its scientific founders Dr. Sachdev Sidhu and Dr. Stephane Angers both Professors at the University of Toronto. They have designed antibody like molecules that behave like Wnt growth factors, by binding to and activating two classes of Wnt receptors, Frizzled (FZD) and LRP5/6, on the surface of cells. Wnt signaling pathways play a crucial role in stem cell proliferation and regeneration. However, recombinant Wnt proteins are hard and expensive to make while the AntlerA drug molecules is a Wnt mimic and is a new generation of precision engineered antibody-ilke molecules that are easy to express recombinantly at scale in a cost effective manner. Further, these antibodies can be programmed to have a high degree of specificity, making them viable as a therapeutic. AntlerA has developed a large library of antibodies that activate specific FZD and LRP5/6 receptor complexes to enable on demand activation depending on the cell type.
A seminal publication today in eLife by the scientific founders describes the platform and the technology behind AntlerA's drug molecules. "These precision engineered Wnt agonists already show promising results in activating gut stem cells and can potentially be used to treat irritable bowel disease (IBD) by regenerating the damaged intestinal lining. They can also be used to treat eye, lung, liver and bone degenerative diseases," says Dr. Sekar Seshagiri, CSO of AntlerA Therapeutics.
Emerge Ventures, Singapore is providing seed funding and incubation support to AntlerA through its Life Sciences fund. "We are excited about AntlerA programmable activation technology and the promising results observed in activation of stem cells that can lead to development of therapeutics across multiple diseases," says Mr. Mahesh Pratapneni, Founder and President of Emerge Ventures.
About AntlerA Therapeutics, Inc.
AntlerA Therapeutics is a regenerative medicines company, with labs in Toronto and San Francisco, focused on developing novel protein therapeutics that function by modulating Wnt signaling and other developmental cellular signaling pathways with the goal to control tissue stem cells and unleash tissue repair and rejuvenation
For more information, please visit www.antlera.co
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