BURNABY, British Columbia, Jan. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Qu Biologics Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing Site Specific Immunomodulators (SSIs), a novel immunomodulation platform designed to restore innate immune function, is pleased to report exciting data demonstrating that Qu Biologics' QBECO SSI markedly improves fatty liver disease and its deleterious consequences in an animal model of preexisting obesity. The study was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Jon Schertzer who holds a Canada Research Chair in Metabolic Inflammation and is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University.
Fatty liver disease, also known as metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), afflicts 30% of North Americans and Europeans and is a growing major health issue. There is only one approved medication for fatty liver disease. Safe new treatment approaches with improved efficacy are needed for MAFLD and MASH. Weight loss drugs, such as Ozempic, are one approach to reduce fat accumulation. However, given the scope and prevalence of these important liver diseases, there is a large unmet need for effective and safe medications that are more targeted to the liver and can directly treat and prevent the aspects of MAFLD and MASH that are the most difficult to treat, namely liver inflammation and fibrosis.
In a series of studies at McMaster, Dr. Schertzer's research group demonstrated that treatment with QBECO SSI resulted in a marked reduction in liver fat, inflammation, and fibrosis in fatty liver disease.
"Inflammation and fibrosis drive the major damage associated with MAFLD and MASH. Current treatments for these diseases work by reducing fat and only indirectly and modestly reduce inflammation and fibrosis. Qu's QBECO SSI is designed to work in a very different way by restoring innate immune function to directly clear not just fat infiltration but inflammation and fibrosis as well. Through this very novel mechanism, it is possible that Qu's QBECO SSI may provide a more optimal way to clear inflammation and fibrosis to prevent the major sequalae of MAFLD and MASH in these challenging diseases. We are very excited about these results.” said Dr. Hal Gunn, CEO of Qu Biologics.
Dr. Jon Schertzer, an internationally recognized researcher in the fields of metabolic health and inflammation, stated, "It is exciting to investigate a new way to target fatty liver disease and show that QBECO lowered aspects of liver inflammation and fibrosis in obese mice. Since QBECO works in a different way than other approaches that primarily target liver fat, modulating the innate immune system with an SSI is positioned to have additional benefits in the progression of MAFLD to MASH.”
Immunologist Dr. Shirin Kalyan, Qu's VP of Scientific Innovation, notes, "What is exciting to me is QBECO's highly unique mechanism of action in simultaneously improving multiple parameters of metabolic dysfunction in the context of diet-induced obesity. This opens the door for strategically applying Qu's immunomodulators for the treatment of a myriad of significant inter-related health challenges that are at the crux of the chronic disease epidemic we are contending with today. Qu's immunomodulators aren't designed to just treat disease - they are designed to improve overall health.”
For more information about Qu Biologics and the science behind SSIs, please visit www.qubiologics.com.
Media Contact:
Hal Gunn, MD
CEO, Qu Biologics Inc.
Phone: 604.734.1450
Email: [email protected]
About Qu Biologics
Qu Biologics is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing Site Specific Immunomodulators (SSI), a novel class of immunotherapies designed to restore innate immune function in targeted organs to reverse the immune dysregulation underlying many important diseases including cancer, chronic inflammatory diseases, and infection. Qu Biologics has completed four Phase 2 studies in lung cancer, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis. Two additional Phase 2 randomized placebo-controlled studies, in late-stage colon cancer and immunosenescence, are enrolling.
Backed by a prestigious group of scientific advisors and board members, Qu Biologics is led by a management team that includes co-founder and CEO Dr. Hal Gunn, a physician and expert on the body's immune response to chronic disease; Chief Medical Officer - Oncology Dr. Simon Sutcliffe, former CEO of the BC Cancer Agency and a distinguished clinician, scientist and leader in cancer control in Canada and internationally; and Chief Medical Officer - Infectious Disease Dr. Ted Steiner, a clinician-scientist specializing in immune responses to infections and Head of the UBC Division of Infectious Diseases. For more information, please visit www.qubiologics.com.
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Qu Biologics Inc. cautions you that statements included in this press release that are not a description of historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based upon current expectations and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of release of the relevant information, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, Qu Biologics' forward-looking statements due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in Qu Biologics' business including, without limitation, statements about: the progress and timing of its clinical trials; difficulties or delays in development, testing, obtaining regulatory approval, producing and marketing its products; unexpected adverse side effects or inadequate therapeutic efficacy of its products that could delay or prevent product development or commercialization; the scope and validity of patent protection for its products; competition from other pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies; and its ability to obtain additional financing to support its operations. Qu Biologics does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law.
