Tiziana Life Sciences Ltd (NASDAQ:TLSA) shares rose more than 10% in late morning trading on Thursday after the biotech company said it plans to advance development of TZLS-501, an antibody that blocks a key inflammatory pathway.
Tiziana noted that the therapy targets the interleukin-6 receptor, or IL-6R.
This means it has the potential to treat a wide range of inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lung damage linked to acute respiratory distress syndrome, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
The company licensed the drug from Swiss group Novimmune in 2017.
“Novartis’s recent acquisition of Tourmaline demonstrates how IL-6 therapy is increasingly valued in treating systemic inflammation and related diseases,” Tiziana Life Sciences CEO Ivor Elrifi said in a statement.
IL-6 drugs are already an established category: Roche’s Actemra, an IL-6 receptor blocker, was widely used during the Covid-19 pandemic to treat severe cases of respiratory distress.
But Tiziana believes its dual mechanism, addressing both receptor signalling and circulating IL-6, could set TZLS-501 apart from existing therapies.