Lorantis Ltd.
This article was originally published in Start Up
Executive Summary
Existing drugs for immune-related conditions, such as Novartis AG's cyclosporin, tend to either suppress the system altogether (often with considerable side effects), or, like anti-inflammatory or broncho-dilatory products for asthma, treat the symptoms of the disease. This is because scientists have to date understood little of the workings of immune system tolerance, or indeed of immune system regulation more generally. The founding scientists of Lorantis Ltd. hope to have made some progress in this area. They have discovered the molecular mechanism underlying antigen-specific tolerance in animal models, potentially paving the way for a new generation of therapies that treat the causes of various immune-related diseases, rather than their symptoms.