Trying not to swing and MIF

Shelves are littered with scrapped macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) inhibitor programs. But Avanir Pharmaceuticals thinks it is ready to take a swing at the target, using its method of screening for small molecules with biological activity against the pro-inflammatory cytokine. Last week, the company announced a deal to combine its MIF efforts with Novartis AG.

Gerald Yakatan, president and CEO of AVN (San Diego, Calif.), said MIF is believed to promote inflammation by blocking the immunosuppressive effects of the body's natural glucocorticoids. However, despite being one of the earliest cytokines discovered, it fell out of favor as a therapeutic target because no one could find anything that could inhibit its function...