Sareum reports progress with psoriasis drug development programme

Drug development firm Sareum and its partner SRI International have reported progress with its drug development programme for the autoimmune disease psoriasis.Psoriasis can occur when the production of cytokines is not properly regulated and immune cells are consequently overly activated.The cyctokines are thought to be controlled by a certain kind of enzyme, which is being targeted by the drug.Testing showed that the drug was able to interupt the process, resulting in a reduction of the activiation of the skin cells that multiply excessively in psoriasis and a reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokine levels.Chief executive officer of Sareum, Dr Tim Mitchell, said: "The work reported in this publication exemplifies the success of the collaboration and the quality of research by the scientists involved. I look forward to discussing these latest advances with potential licensing partners."