The hydrobromide salt of halofuginone, a semisynthetic quinazolinone alkaloid anticoccidial derived from the plant Dichroa febrifuga, with antifibrotic and potential antineoplastic activities. Halofuginone specifically inhibits collagen type I gene expression and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) gene expression, which may result in the suppression of angiogenesis, tumor stromal cell development, and tumor cell growth. These effects appear to be due to halofuginone-mediated inhibition of the collagen type I and MMP-2 promoters. Collagen type I and MMP-2 play important roles in fibro-proliferative diseases.
A new study published in the journal Science Signaling on November 26, 2019, describes a mouse experiment, in which the immune response to the dengue vaccine was boosted when the mice were first given halofuginone, a plant compound that is well known to herbalists.
Akashi Therapeutics, Inc., announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track designation to the company's most advanced product candidate, HT-100 (delayed-release halofuginone), an orally available, small molecule drug candidate intended to reduce fibrosis and inflammation and promote healthy muscle regeneration in boys with DMD.
Halo Therapeutics, LLC, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for rare fibrotic diseases, announced today that the TREAT-NMD Advisory Committee on Therapeutics (TACT) has reviewed HT-100, Halo's drug candidate for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and believes the compound has potential based on the proposed mechanism.
For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, a compound derived from this extract's bioactive ingredient, could be used to treat many autoimmune disorders as well. Now, researchers from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine have discovered the molecular secrets behind this herbal extract's power.
A drug derived from the hydrangea root, used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine, shows promise in treating autoimmune disorders, report researchers from the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Immune Disease Institute at Children's Hospital Boston (PCMM/IDI), along with the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.