CD206 Targeting Peptide Retards Induced Fibrosis in Murine Models

March 18, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. – Researchers at Riptide Bioscience, Inc., working with physician/scientists at the College of Medicine, University College London, have reported inhibition of pulmonary fibrosis in a murine model through intratracheal administration of CD206-targeting peptides. This work is the subject of a peer-reviewed article published in the current issue of Cells.

Activated macrophages of the M2 polarity are known to drive pulmonary fibrosis in several clinical indications, including Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Accordingly, agents which can reduce or repolarize M2 macrophages are a logical therapeutic approach.

Senior author Dr. Clayton Yates, the John R. Lewis Professor of Pathology, Oncology, and Urology at Johns Hopkins University, remarked, “In both early-stage and later-stage models of Bleomycin induced lung fibrosis, the peptide drug candidate reduced fibrosis, and fibrosis-associated markers including CD206, TGF-b1, and a-SMA.” Riptide Executive Vice President Dr. Henry Lopez, who is also a co-author, stated, “It’s particularly gratifying that the Riptide drug candidate compared very well with FDA-approved therapies. The Riptide drug reduced fibrosis to about the same degree as Pirfenidone, and actually more than Nintedanib, with no apparent toxicities observed. The models used in this research are among the best available mimicking IPF, which affects 100,000 people in the US alone.”

The paper entitled “A Novel CD206 Targeting Peptide Inhibits Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice,” is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12091254.

Riptide Bioscience, Inc., with laboratories in Vallejo, California, maintains an intensive program of research into peptide-based therapeutics. Contact: info@riptidebio.com