The company has announced an expansion of its pipeline through the nomination of PKCtheta as the target of a new immunology project.

The PKCtheta kinase plays a critical role in T-cell receptor signaling and is believed to be centrally involved in the pathogenesis of T-cell mediated inflammatory and autoimmune diseases e.g. ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis. PKCtheta has garnered significant attention from the pharmaceutical industry and, using our drug discovery process, Aqilion is aiming for best-in-class small molecule PKCtheta inhibitors, it states.

Aqilion has identified highly potent and selective PKCtheta inhibitors using structure-based design. This has resulted in a unique set of structurally diverse molecules with excellent drug-like properties, the company states. The PKCtheta program is in lead optimization phase with the aim of nominating a clinical candidate within the next 9-12 month period. In parallel, the company is furthering the biological rationale for certain clinical indications.

“Our discovery team has been working with several interesting drug targets during the last two years, with the aim to select a new preclinical program. It is exiting to be able nominate PKCtheta and to leverage experiences and successes from Aqilion’s other preclinical and clinical kinase inhibitor programs,” says Sarah Fredriksson, CEO.

Photo of Sarah Fredriksson: Aqilion