How a Lowly Worm Is Curing Autoimmune Diseases
By Jessica Chao, Ph.D.
April 2023
Did you know that the number of life science research and development projects transitioning from Phase I to FDA regulatory submission only grew 1 percent from 2020 to 2021? This was despite a $40 billion injection of venture funding and AI-derived drug discovery growing 30 percent during that same time period.
Holoclara is poised to break this paradigm by identifying therapeutic molecules developed over millions of years of evolution.
Holoclara is a first-of-its-kind biotech company utilizing AI-derived methods to harness the immunomodulatory properties of roundworms to provide relief to the millions living with allergic and autoimmune diseases. Roundworms have evolved alongside humans for thousands of years and have shown to have therapeutic potential in a variety of inflammatory diseases. Epidemiological studies have found an inverse correlation between people with autoimmune disease and helminth (a type of roundworm) infections, suggesting gut helminths have immunomodulatory properties. Using high-throughput metabolomics and sequencing tools, Holoclara is identifying the key immunomodulators from roundworm secretions to develop novel small molecule therapeutics for allergic and autoimmune diseases.
With several patents already issued and more than a dozen filed, Holoclara is poised for a major milestone for their lead drug candidate.
Using roundworms has several distinct advantages:
Low toxicity: Many helminth-derived therapeutics are naturally occurring molecules that have evolved to interact with human physiology, and as such, they may offer lower toxicity than synthetic compounds, yielding higher success in preclinical studies.
Possibility of immune modulation: Helminth infections have been shown to modulate the immune response, leading to the development of regulatory T cells and a dampened inflammatory response. This modulation may be useful in treating autoimmune diseases and allergies.
Unique bioactive molecules: Helminths produce a range of bioactive molecules, such as proteins, glycoproteins and lipids, which have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects.
Holoclara is founded and led by physician-scientist Andrea Choe, who received her M.D. from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, and a Ph.D. in biology from Caltech. Andrea has assembled the world’s leading experts in roundworm biology, including world-class advisors in chemistry, metabolomics and regulatory affairs, positioning Holoclara to be the first company to develop novel orally bioavailable small molecule immunomodulators derived from roundworm secretions.
Despite a $40 billion injection of venture funding and AI-derived drug discovery growing 30 percent from 2020 to 2021, the number of life science research and development projects transitioning from phase I to FDA regulatory submission only grew 1 percent.
With several patents already issued and more than a dozen filed, Holoclara is poised for a major milestone for their lead drug candidate. Endurance28 is excited to support Holoclara’s mission to provide relief for millions of people with allergic and autoimmune diseases.