Pipeline & Disease Focus
Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH)
Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the liver that occurs when body’s immune system attacks the liver. Although the cause of autoimmune hepatitis isn't entirely clear, some diseases, toxins and drugs may trigger autoimmune hepatitis in susceptible people, especially women. Around the world, the incidence of AIH is 0.1-1.9 cases out of 100 000 persons per year, which is not very high[1]. However, the prevalence of AIH in Europe is in the range of 11.6-16.9 cases per 100,000 persons[2], and in the United States, the proportion of hepatitis among patients with liver cancer is about 11%[3]. Incidence is also higher in women than in men[2],[4],[5].
The choice of medication for AIH patients has been immunosuppressants, which includes azathioprine, corticosteroids, and cyclosporin[6],[7]. However, 70%-80% patients might relapse after withdrawal of treatment[8]. More seriously, they have many side effects. Without treatment, nearly 50% of patients with severe autoimmune hepatitis die in approximately 5 years. Taking this into consideration, it is significantly important to develop new specific drugs.
Recent studies have demonstrated that AIH is a T-cell mediated diseases[9]. This new understanding will provide the rationale for using anti-lymphocyte and anti-thymocyte therapies for the treatment of AIH. At Bioniz, we are committed to study and develop novel therapeutics for AIH. Bioniz antagonist peptides that target the common-gamma receptor modulate the T-cell function. Bioniz is in the process of lead peptide optimization and in vivo assay development to study the efficacy of its drug in AIH.
References:1. Manns MP, Vogel A. Autoimmune hepatitis, from mechanisms to therapy. Hepatology 2006; 43: S132-S144
2. Primo J, Maroto N, Martínez M, Antón MD, Zaragoza A, Giner R, Devesa F, Merino C, del Olmo JA. Incidence of adult form of autoimmune hepatitis in Valencia (Spain). Acta Gastroenterol Belg 2009; 72: 402-406
3. Clark JM, Brancati FL, Diehl AM. The prevalence and etiology of elevated aminotransferase levels in the United States. Am J Gastroenterol 2003; 98: 960-967
4. Czaja AJ, Carpenter HA. Distinctive clinical phenotype and treatment outcome of type 1 autoimmune hepatitis in the elderly. Hepatology 2006; 43: 532-538
5. Al-Chalabi T, Underhill JA, Portmann BC, McFarlane IG, Heneghan MA. Impact of gender on the long-term outcome and survival of patients with autoimmune hepatitis. J Hepatol 2008; 48: 140-147
6. Häyry P, Gannedahl G. [Transplantation. Immunosuppression]. Nord Med 1994; 109: 191-193
7. Yang L, Liu YF, Liu SR, Wu G, Zhang JL, Meng YM, Shong SW, Li GC. Prevention and treatment of rejection after simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation. Chin Med Sci J 2005; 20: 210-213
8. Heneghan MA, McFarlane IG. Current and novel immunosuppressive therapy for autoimmune hepatitis. Hepatology 2002; 35: 7-13
9. Czaja AJ, Freese DK. Diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune hepatitis. Hepatology 2002; 36: 479-497