CCR4 inhibition in allergic disease: The capacity to “down regulate” the inflammatory response
In allergic inflammatory diseases, chemokines recruit helper T type 2 (Th2) cells to inflamed tissues. Once Th2 cells enter tissues such as the skin or the airways in the lung, they secrete proteins known to drive the inflammatory response. In atopic dermatitis, there are higher levels of these inflammatory ligands compared with healthy humans and these ligands also correlate with the severity of disease. We believe that by inhibiting CCR4, RPT193 (our novel drug candidate) has the potential to bring therapeutic benefit to patients across a broad spectrum of allergic diseases, including asthma, chronic urticaria, chronic rhinosinusitis, allergic conjunctivitis and eosinophilic esophagitis.