RestorGenex, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a portfolio of first-in-class therapeutic products to treat diseases across the ophthalmologic, oncologic and dermatologic space, recently announced that Nathan Sandbo, M.D. and Keith Ferguson, M.D., members of the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, presented results of RES-529 in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
On May 19, the poster entitled “The Novel TOR Complex 1 /2 Inhibitor RestorGenex 529 (RES-529) Inhibits Human Lung Myofibroblast Differentiation” was presented during the American Thoracic Society’s International Conference, which took place in Denver, Colorado.
During the presentation, the company discussed data from pre-clinical studies that assessed RES-529, a molecule that interferes with molecular components, targeting TORC1 and TORC2 protein complexes within the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.
The presentation was focused on research conducted on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in vitro models. IPF is a complex disorder affecting the lungs, for which treatments include lung transplant, pulmonary rehabilitation and oxygen therapy.
Evidence from studies has shown that the myofibroblasts’ activation in IPF signaling via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway mediates the differentiation of myofibroblasts. These trials evaluated the antifibrotic effect of the compound in TGF-β dependent activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, differentiation of myofibroblasts and in pulmonary fibrosis in vivo models.
The compound inhibits in human lung fibroblasts, the mTOR-dependent signaling as well as the myofibroblast differentiation. Results from a study that assessed the efficacy of RES-529 in a 10-day in vivo mouse model of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis showed less histologic fibrosis and an improvement in survival. In short, human trials thus far have shown RES-529 to be able to slow down fibrosis in the lungs.
“There is a large need for better treatments for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. This data support the potential effectiveness of dual inhibition of both TORC1 and TORC2 with RES-529 in halting some of the key cellular events that promote pulmonary fibrosis,” said Nathan Sandbo, M.D., senior author of the presentation.
Stephen M. Simes, chief executive officer of RestorGenex added in the news release, “Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a devastating disease. While our current focus is on the use of RES-529 in oncology and ophthalmology, we believe that RES-529 has potentially wide-ranging applications in treating other diseases as demonstrated by this encouraging research of RES-529 as a treatment for pulmonary fibrosis.”