Cool and also collected

A Nature Medicine study published this week shows the immune-modulating peptide thymosin α1 provides unexpected improvements in the dysfunctional ion channel that causes cystic fibrosis, and could lead to a single agent therapy to compete with the combinations gaining ground in the clinic.

The University of Perugia and University San Raffaele researchers who led the study have patented the findings, and plan to test the compound in early stage CF patients by the end of the year. The team is also in discussion with SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc., which markets Zadaxin thymalfasin, a synthetic version of thymosin α1, for hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and as an adjuvant for cancer therapies...