The C1s antibody prepared by the True North Therapeutics, Inc prevents the destruction of human red blood cells exposed to plasma samples of patients with a type of autoimmune hemolytic anemia.

"By selectively shutting down the Classical Complement pathway with an antibody, the main drivers of anemia in CAD have been reduced in this preclinical study. Using TNT003 and a large number of 40 patient samples, we were able to deepen the field's understanding of the Complement system's role in this rare disease. The study strengthens the hypothesis that such an approach could be beneficial in this rare patient population," stated Sandip Panicker, PhD, C1s Program Lead and senior author on the journal article in Blood.
TNT003 inhibits C1s, a member of the Complement family of plasma proteins, which, upon activation, trigger a powerful enzymatic cascade that destroys and removes pathogens from the circulation. However, aberrant Complement system activation has been described in numerous autoimmune settings in which antibodies that attack self, known as autoantibodies, play a role in disease pathogenesis. Like other forms of AIHA, CAD is a disorder in which anti-red blood cell antibodies bind to and lead to the destruction of patient red blood cells through Complement system activation.
Dr. Panicker further stated, "As Complement system activity is the only known driver of red blood cell destruction in patients with CAD, the results in the study published in Blood provide compelling evidence for the development of TNT009, the company's lead humanized monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of CAD and potentially other forms of AIHA, for which no approved therapies exist."
Source-Eurekalert