Shinji Oki, PhD, at National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry and TAGCyx Announces a research collaboration for the treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus using a novel nucleic acid aptamer.

March 8th, 2024
TAGCyx biotechnologies Inc.

TAGCyx biotechnologies Inc. (President and CEO: Chizuko Koseki), and Shinji Oki, PhD, at National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (President: Kazuyuki Nakagome), Japan, announced entering into a research collaboration for the treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using a novel nucleic acid aptamer.

TAGCyx has invented its proprietary artificial nucleic acid base-pair technology, Xenoligo® that enables to produce high avidity and selective functional DNA aptamers and is engaged in its own drug discovery business and drug discovery partnerships.

Shinji Oki, PhD, Chief of the Demyelinating Disease Section at Department of Immunology, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (NCNP), is an expert in the research area of the mechanisms of immune cell function regulation, leading to the development of treatments for autoimmune diseases. Dr. Oki aims to develop novel therapies through the search for new target molecules that will lead to new drug discovery.

Both parties intend to collaborative research to evaluate the efficacy of the DNA novel aptamers created by the artificial base-containing DNA aptamer discovery platform, Xenoligo®, for the treatment of SLE with in vitro and in vivo studies using SLE disease mouse model at NCNP.

SLE is an autoimmune disease that is more prevalent in women of childbearing age, and SLE with neuropsychiatric symptoms are known to be intractable and show poor prognosis and pregnancies complicated with SLE are also known to be particularly high-risk for both mother and child. Nucleic acid aptamers have extremely low immunogenicity and placental permeability, and it is hoped that this research collaboration will lead to the development of safer treatments for SLE.

For further information about this press release, please contact:
TAGCyx biotechnologies Inc. Website
E-Mail: info@tagcyx.com

For further information about this research, please contact:
National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (NCNP)
Shinji Oki, PhD Website
E-Mail: soki@ncnp.go.jp