IKAIKA THERAPEUTICS

Ikaika Therapeutics is developing first-in-class antibodies with an active pipeline targeting fibrotic diseases, including muscular dystrophy... Our vision is to provide patients first-in-class therapies that slow disease progression by preventing fibrosis accumulation and preserving organ function. We developed novel antibodies against latent TGF-β binding protein 4 (LTBP4). LTBP4's function and mechanism of action were discovered in an effort to identify genetic modifiers of fibrosis. Using genetic tools, we established that LTBP4 is a driver of fibrotic disease severity in conditions such as muscular dystrophy. Protecting LTBP4 from releasing TGF-β reduced TGF-β activity, significantly decreasing fibrosis deposition improving tissue function... We identified genetic signals that regulate muscle disease progression by combining quantitative trait loci mapping with genome-wide mapping. We established that latent TGF-β binding protein 4 (LTBP4) has a key role in modulating fibrosis..