Immunooncology spinout Neoleukin Therapeutics is working on a safer, synthetic replica of a T-cell-boosting protein called interleukin-2.

University of Washington has officially unveiled US-based spinout Neoleukin Therapeutics to commercialise an immunooncology drug that will aim to bolster the patient’s T-cell receptors, GeekWire reported yesterday. Founded in November 2018, Neoleukin is aiming to develop a synthetic version of an immuno-stimulating protein called interleukin-2 (IL-2) that enhances the patient’s T-cell receptors so that they can detect and destroy malignant cancerous cells. IL-2 is already prescribed for its cytotoxic – cancer killing – properties in melanoma and renal cell carcinoma, however the protein’s applicability is currently limited by harsh side effects. Neoleukin’s first candidate, Neo-2/15, is designed to bind to the two T-cell receptors that offer cytotoxic benefit without triggering a third receptor associated with damaging effects. The drug has already shown promise in pre-clinical trials and will initially be tried out as a safer replacement for melanoma and renal cell carcinoma IL-2 therapies. Neo-2/15 was devised with a computational protein modelling platform called Rosetta, an innovation built in the research laboratory of David Baker, professor of biochemistry and head of the Institute for Protein Design at the Department of Biochemistry. Baker co-founded Neoleukin together with three members of his lab – Daniel Silva, Umut Ulge and Alfred Rubio – as well as Carl Walkey, director of the Institute for Protein Design, and Jonathan Drachman, who acts as chief executive of the spinout. Neoleukin was formed with the help of University of Washington’s commercialisation office, CoMotion.

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