Developing the next-generation
biological drugs for treating wounds
in skin and mucosa
Developing the next-generation
biological drugs for treating wounds
in skin and mucosa
Immunology week hosted by Swedish TV, Malou efter 10. Mia Phillipson, Professor in physiology at Uppsala University and co-founder of Ilya Pharma gives an update of what immune cells do in the body during homeostasis and how they heal wounds in skin and mucosa. In Swedish.
Ilya Pharma, clinical stage biopharmaceutical development is currently pursuing three projects with drug candidates from its own technology platform to PoC in clinical phase I and II.
Human therapeutic proteins are produced at the actual wound site by live lactic acid bacteria acting as mini-bioreactors. This provides a new and cost effective way to deliver biological drugs. The formulation is freezedried with good stability and the lactic acid bacteria are revived immediately prior to use by adding a small volume of buffer solution.
The drug candidates are classified as ATMP or gene therapies by the EMA and FDA and the project is fully compliant.
The innovation stems from cutting edge medical research in immunophysiology and applied microbiology at Uppsala University and the Swedish University of Agriculture. The treatments target the function of tissue-resident immune cells and the mechanism of accelerated healing in skin wounds was published in PNAS 2018.
Unmet clinical needs targeted by ILYA Pharma are treatment of post surgical wounds in special populations, problematic diabetic wounds, and indications in the gastrointestinal tract, such as inflammatory bowel disease.
For wound healing, we expect to deliver clinical value by providing cost efficient biological treatments substantially cheaper than traditional biologicals and with better efficacy than medical devices.
The company is currently running a first in human trial with the lead candidate ILP100, EudraCT No. 2019000680-24 and are planning the phase II program to be conducted under an IND.
Ilya Pharma is today financed by a mix of grants and private funding. The company received a H2020 SME Instrument phase II grant 2018 of 3M Euro. The company is currently raising a Series A for the continued clinical development in phase II from suitable investors and potential partners with proven track record in cell- and gene therapy and biologics.
