BioCentury
ARTICLE | Distillery Therapeutics

Infectious disease

March 15, 2017 5:06 PM UTC

Mouse studies suggest Gilenya fingolimod, Orencia abatacept and Xeljanz tofacitinib could help treat Chikungunya infection. Testing of a total of 11 drugs in mouse models of Chikungunya infection by two independent groups identified three compounds -- the S1P receptor antagonist Gilenya, the CD80/CD86 inhibitor Orencia and the JAK-1/JAK-3 inhibitor Xeljanz -- that alleviated infection-associated joint pathology. In one mouse model, Gilenya decreased joint inflammation, joint vascular leakage, subcutaneous edema, skeletal muscle necrosis, and the numbers of CD4+ T cells in the joints compared with vehicle. In another mouse model, Orencia or Xeljanz decreased swelling in the foot, joint and periarticular inflammation, and the numbers of CD4+ T cells in the joints. Also in the second model, Orencia plus an antibody against Chikungunya virus decreased foot swelling, viral burden in the joints and serum, and levels of inflammatory cytokines and the numbers of CD4+ T cells in the joints. Next steps could include testing these compounds alone or in combination with antiviral compounds in additional models of Chikungunya virus infection.

Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp. and Novartis AG market Gilenya for multiple sclerosis and have the compound in Phase III testing for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP)...