Texad – tailoring exosomes for autoimmune diseases
Exogenus Therapeutics is a drug development company using an exosome-based platform technology to develop an innovative pipeline of therapeutic products. Exogenus’ scientific team has pioneer research work in the area of Umbilical Cord Blood (UCB)-derived Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) clinical application. Among EVs, exosomes are nanosized vesicles (30-150nm) released from all types of cells responsible for cell-to-cell communication. Exogenus’ technology makes use of UCB cells preconditioned in ischemia, which secrete EVs enriched in pro-regenerative, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory biomolecules. Based on immunomodulatory properties of the lead biological active agent under development (Exo-101), and its capacity to increase immunotolerance, the company is investigating the potential of these vesicles for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. There are more than 80 different autoimmune diseases (AD) and a prevalence of more than 50 million people in the US alone. There is a high unmet need for most of these diseases, especially regarding safer treatments with less secondary effects. Based on their proprietary vesicles derived from UCB, Exogenus aims to develop a new generation of biologics for AD, with high efficacy and less secondary effects.