Historicalarchived

Navy Medical Researchers Launch New Methods for Treating Autoimmune Disease

NAVAL MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTER

While assigned to the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC), Navy immunologist Dr. Carl June made a profound discovery—the key to a hypothesized second signal in T-cell stimulation. June’s discovery of the function of the CD28 molecule in that second pathway led to major advances in the search for safe and effective therapies for autoimmune disorders.

Applications

Military and Commercial Significance:
The immune system is coordinated by T-cells that become activated when they encounter a foreign substance, or antigen.
Activated T-cells fight off infection in the body by attacking the foreign antigen.
Sometimes T-cells mistake the body’s own antigens for invading antigens
and mount an attack, which can lead to the development of an autoimmune disease.
Academic and industrial collaborations centering on June’s fundamental
discovery have resulted in revolutionary new methods for treating autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple
sclerosis, and scleroderma.
The patent for this method has been licensed exclusively to Repligen
Corporation.
Working in collaboration with Repligen Corporation scientists under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, Dr. June tested a soluble form of the CTLA4 molecule in an animal model of multiple sclerosis and found that this treatment was able not only to block the onset of the disease, but also prevent it from progressing.

Provenance

Original: https://dodtechmatch.com/dod/successstories/view.aspx?id=60091
Archived copy: Wayback Machine snapshot

This record was recovered from a public web archive of dodtechmatch.com and is preserved for historical reference. It may be outdated. Not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Contact details from the original listing have been withheld.