The study, conducted in mouse models of oral mucositis, showed that NU206 (R-spondin1) regenerated basal layer epithelial cells and accelerated cell repair by stimulating the Wnt pathway, a signaling pathway that is critical for cell growth and differentiation during homeostasis and pathogenesis.
Ted Love, chairman and CEO of Nuvelo, said: “We are on track to begin a Phase I trial with NU206 in the second quarter of this year, and are also assessing the therapeutic potential of other secreted proteins in the R-spondin family through our Wnt therapeutics program, which targets a range of indications where cell regeneration and differentiation are important to disease processes, including gastrointestinal disease, bone disorders, wound healing and cancer.”