Pipeline > SDF-1α
Our third program consists of glycan-binding decoy proteins based on stromal derived factor 1α (SDF-1α). SDF-1a is known to bind to receptor CXCR4 expressed on a number of cell types. This chemokine has been shown to be involved in the mobilization of stem cells and dendritic cells from various sources like the bone marrow. SDF-1α and its receptor CXCR4 are therefore high priority targets for indications such as cancer and angiogenesis in addition to inflammation.
By applying the CellJammer® discovery platform we have developed a lead series of SDF-1α-based glycan-binding decoy proteins, which show superior GAG binding compared to the wild type protein. This program has potential applications in areas of severe unmet medical disease and was successful in proof- of-concept efficacy studies.