LeukoSite/Warner Extend Anti-Inflammatory Deal

US biopharmaceutical company LeukoSite has entered into a second collaborative agreement with Warner-Lambert which extends their original program for the research and development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

Formerly, the cooperation focused on the discovery of small-molecule drugs that block the function of a chemokine called monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, a lekeocyte-derived compound intrinsic to the inflammatory process. The companies will now expand their program to include the discovery of small-molecule blockers of an additional chemokine, interleukin-8.

Chemokines are a class of inflammatory molecules that orchestrate the chemotaxic process by which leukocytes are directed to specific locations in the body. As such, these compounds and their corresponding receptors represent new targets for the discovery of novel drugs to treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis and psoriasis.