CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Repertoire Immune Medicines, Inc. today announced it has entered a sponsored research agreement with UMass Chan Medical School (UMass Chan) to identify the specific T cell and antigen pairs involved in causing the onset and progression of the autoimmune disease vitiligo. The potential discovery of these immunogenic drivers of vitiligo could be used to develop antigen-specific therapeutic candidates for this disease.
The research team at UMass Chan will be led by John E. Harris, M.D., Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Dermatology and Director of the Vitiligo Clinic and Research Center.
“In autoimmune diseases, the best therapeutic options typically act broadly to suppress the immune system, which can lead to other complications for patients. One of the challenges to discovering new treatment options for vitiligo is the significant complexity of the immune system,” said Dr. Harris. “We understand the role of the T cell but have not been able to identify the specific codes directing their function. The opportunity to combine our expertise in vitiligo with Repertoire’s DECODE™ technology means that, for the first time, we may be able to advance from translational insight to novel, antigen-specific therapies.”
Vitiligo is a chronic autoimmune disease in which CD8+ T cells kill melanin-producing cells, leading to the loss of skin pigmentation. In autoimmune diseases like vitiligo, the immune system directs T cells to target and damage healthy cells. It is unknown exactly why this occurs, but it is understood that the immune system activates T cells through codes communicated by antigens that direct T cell activity. If the codes directing the CD8+ T cells can be identified, then it may be possible to develop an immunotherapy that targets these cells and prevents them from killing healthy cells.
“The deep expertise and clinical experience that the UMass Chan team has in the field of vitiligo makes this an ideal partnership for Repertoire. We will be able to apply the proprietary technology in our DECODE platform to assess and potentially identify the key drivers of the dysregulated immune response underlying this autoimmune disease, specifically the T cells and the antigens that activate them,” said Anthony Coyle, Ph.D., President, Research and Development, Repertoire Immune Medicines. “Repertoire’s DECODE technology also provides us with the potential to design targeted immunotherapies for vitiligo.”
About the DECODE™ Platform
The DECODE platform is a powerful discovery engine that characterizes essential elements of the immune synapse. In particular, the platform identifies T cell receptor-antigen pairs in the context of other important features of the immune synapse, such as T cell function and how these antigens are presented by molecules on antigen-presenting cells, known as major human leukocyte antigen, or HLA, molecules. Repertoire intends to utilize these insights into key drivers that govern immune function to design and develop novel immune product candidates.
About Repertoire Immune Medicines
Repertoire Immune Medicines is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to creating treatments for diseases based on the power of the human T cell repertoire to eliminate cancer cells, target pathogens and regulate immune function.
Repertoire’s strategy lies in understanding the immune synapse – the interaction between specific T cells and the corresponding antigen-presenting cells that dictate T cell activity. The company’s proprietary DECODE™ technology platform, developed by Repertoire scientists, provides a comprehensive understanding of the full repertoire of interactions between T cell receptors and their antigen targets. We believe the ability to decode these interactions represents one of the greatest opportunities for innovation in medical science.
Repertoire’s team of more than 160 operates from sites in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Zurich, Switzerland and uses its DECODE technology to rationally design treatments for cancers, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases.
To learn more about Repertoire, please visit our website: www.repertoire.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About UMass Chan Medical School
UMass Chan Medical School, one of five campuses of the University of Massachusetts system, comprises the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing; a thriving research enterprise and an innovative public service initiative, Commonwealth Medicine. UMass Chan’s mission is to advance the health and wellness of our diverse communities throughout Massachusetts and across the world by leading and innovating in education, research, health care delivery and public service. In doing so, it has built a reputation as a world-class research institution and as a leader in primary care education, perennially ranked in the top 10 percent of medical schools for primary care by U.S. News and World Report. UMass Chan attracts more than $400 million annually in research funding, placing it among the top 50 medical schools in the nation. In 2021, the Medical School received a $175 million donation from The Morningside Foundation and was renamed the UMass Chan Medical School.
