A novel recombinant monoclonal antibody for treating rheumatoid arthritis

Bakgrund och motivering

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune disease with no cure. Current treatments aim to suppress general inflammation, leading to unwanted side effects due to lack of specificity against autoimmunity. We have developed a recombinant monoclonal antibody (R69-4) that targets collagen type II, which shows strong protection in multiple experimental arthritis models (Xu Z et al. Nat Commun 2023). In this study, we aim to advance R69-4 for clinical use, which could greatly benefit RA patients.

Metod

We will implement the project including the following WPs:

1. The establishment of optimal humanized arthritis model and treatment regimen

2. The function of R69-4 on articular cartilage and antibody production

3. The function of R69-4 on synovial macrophages

4. The safety profile of R69-4 in humanized arthritis models

5. The function of R69-4 on human cells and tissues

Betydelse för patienten

Current therapies remain inadequate, as a significant number of RA patients still respond poorly, and others require extended periods to achieve clinical remission. This highlights a substantial gap in treatments that ensure satisfactory and sustained remission. R69-4 has the potential to fill this gap by effectively and rapidly suppressing acute inflammation and maintaining remission. Its significant impact has been observed particularly during the acute phase of arthritis. Furthermore, R69-4’s ability to induce remission in DMARDs-resistant patients could play a pivotal role in advancing RA management.