SciRhom GmbH, a therapeutic antibody company, announced the development of first-in-class antibodies against iRhom2 on ­November 5, 2019. iRhom2 is a key modulator of several major pro-inflammatory signaling pathways, including TNF-alpha ­signaling. Based on a decade of cutting-edge bench research and the completion of challenging, yet ultimately successful antibody generation campaigns, SciRhom is now in the unique position to pursue the development of monoclonal antibodies against iRhom2 for the treatment of major autoimmune diseases. To date, SciRhom has secured about 7 million Euro in seed funding from the High-Tech Gruenderfonds (HTGF), Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), New York, USA, and private investors.

“We are excited by the opportunity to advance our bench to bedside research into clinical development to provide novel targeted treatment options for patients with debilitating and life-threatening autoimmune diseases,” commented Prof. Dr. Carl Blobel, co-founder of SciRhom and Program Director of the Arthritis and Tissue Degeneration Program at HSS, one of the world’s top-ranking academic medical centers in rheumatology and musculoskeletal health. “iRhom2 provides a unique and completely new approach for the inhibition of several disease-causing pathways simultaneously. We have identified antibodies with a unique profile, showing potent inhibition of iRhom2/TACE without affecting TACE-dependent pathways that are essential for normal physiology. We hope that these efforts will ultimately give clinicians superior treatment options to improve the quality of life of patients.”