Turning T cells off

Argos Therapeutics Inc. says CD83, the therapeutic protein it recently in-licensed from Beckman Coulter Inc., may serve as a switch that turns off autoimmunity. The company is completing preclinical testing of the molecule and plans to start clinical testing in transplantation prior to pursuing other autoimmune diseases.

"We're excited about CD83 as a therapeutic for three reasons," said Jeff Abbey, VP of business development at Argos (Durham, N.C.). "First, it can be used for a wide variety of autoimmune diseases to attenuate the auto-aggressive immune response; second, our data indicate that it won't require chronic administration; and, third, it doesn't leave the host immunosuppressed."...