The immune system normally reacts against foreign substances, such as bacteria or viruses and cancer cells, but not against self-constituents.
Autoimmunity means that the immune system reacts incorrectly – intolerantly – against the body’s own constituents. If the reaction is strong, an autoimmune disease may develop, with destruction of body tissues as a result. There are more than 80 known autoimmune diseases. These are generally chronic and can lead to significant disability. Currently they cannot be cured. Common autoimmune diseases are, for example, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
Autoimmune diseases can manifest themselves in many ways and subsequently there are several different treatments for them. However, all current treatments are non-specific and limited to symptom relief – none of them addresses the specific underlying cause of the disease. Because the unspecific treatments have broad effects on the immune system, they are linked to several negative side effects.
Toleranzia is dedicated to developing a safe and effective therapy that addresses the underlying cause of the disease, and targets only the specific parts of the immune system that constitute the basis of the autoimmune disease. Toleranzia’s targeted therapy will therefore not lead to the negative side effects that current unspecific therapies cause patients.