DeepCure, a therapeutics company using AI to discover novel drugs for inflammation and immune diseases, today announced a collaboration with one of the world’s premier research centers for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine (LIRMM). The collaboration will investigate DC-9476, a third-generation selective BRD4 (BD2) inhibitor, as a potential treatment for over a million patients worldwide with RA who do not respond well to current standard of care.

DC-9476 is a development candidate that inhibits the Brd4 protein which belongs to the BET family of proteins. DC-9476 decreases tissue and blood levels of cytokines that are key regulators of innate and adaptive immunity, such as TNF-alpha, IL6, IL-17, and IL-1b, which are up-regulated in autoimmune diseases. The development candidate is designed to have greater selectivity for Brd4 and BD2 than previous generations of BET inhibitors to increase safety. In preclinical RA models, DC-9476 demonstrated better safety and efficacy compared to RA treatments that are the standard of care, including TNF-inhibitors and JAK inhibitors.

The experienced team at LIRMM will investigate DC-9476 using blood samples and joint biopsies from multiple patient subgroups, in combination with the advanced translational tools developed at the institute. In particular, the studies will focus on samples from patients that are classified as difficult to treat or refractory to current approved therapies. The studies will include examining gene expression patterns and cytokines measurements in patient cells and tissues.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with DeepCure on this innovative project,” said Dr. Kulveer Mankia, Clinical Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist, Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, Chapel Allerton Hospital. “DC-9476 may represent a novel approach to treating people with RA who have not responded well to current therapies and have limited treatment options. We believe these patients could potentially benefit from DC-9476 due to its activity against multiple immune pathways, and we are hopeful that this partnership will lead to a significant breakthrough for patients.”

“We’re excited to work with the clinicians and scientists at LIRMM and will benefit from their deep expertise in the complexities of RA and the unmet needs of patients,” said Kfir Schreiber, CEO & Co-Founder of DeepCure. “This collaboration allows us to evaluate the efficacy of DC-9476 in patient-derived samples and help identify RA patient subgroups that will benefit the most from this compound.”

About DeepCure

DeepCure was founded by researchers at MIT to accelerate breakthrough therapies using artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-enabling technologies to innovate small molecule discovery. The company is based in Boston, MA, and its engineers, chemists, and biologists collaborate on hard problems to find solutions that will have an enormous impact on patient health. For more information, visit www.deepcure.ai.

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