Lilly, Sanford-Burnham in autoimmune research deal

Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (La Jolla, Calif.) started a research collaboration to develop therapies targeting immune checkpoint modulators to treat autoimmune disorders including lupus, Sjogren's syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease.

Carl Ware, director of the Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases Center at Sanford-Burnham, told BioCentury that the partners will focus on creating biologics that can activate immune checkpoint proteins. Ware noted that while checkpoint inhibitors have proven effective in cancer, "no one has figured out how to agonize these molecules, and that's the key in autoimmunity." ...