An Indiana biotechnology start-up is hoping to get FDA approval to begin human testing on a new treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF.
ImmuneWorks CEO Wade Lange says his company was founded on a discovery made by Chief Scientific Officer Dr. David Wilkes at the IU School of Medicine. He says Dr. Wilkes’ work revealed that the fatal lung disease is actually an auto-immune response to a form of collagen that is normally found in the lung.
Lange says if verified, that treatment model could be applied to other auto-immune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. It was announced earlier this week that Indiana’s non-profit BioCrossroads seed fund has provided ImmuneWorks with a $300,000 investment. Lange says that investment will go a long way toward the production and safety testing the firm will have to take on before initiating clinical trials.
