Therapeutic Targets

The GBT 009 cells are “smart” cells with the ability to determine the type of disease or injury present in the body and repair or regenerate tissue accordingly. These cells have also been shown to reduce inflammation and suppress the autoimmune response, offering therapeutic potential in a broad array of disease categories.

Garnet BioTherapeutics’ lead product candidate is GBT 009, and its application in post-surgical wound repair, scar revision, burns and various other dermatologic indications. Inflammation is the body’s first response to injury and the beginning of a cascade of events leading to formation of a scar. GBT 009 has been shown to reduce inflammation in a variety of preclinical studies. In preclinical animal models of surgically induced wounds, the administration of GBT 009 adjacent to the wound is associated with reduced severity of scarring and acceleration of healing. The company anticipates launching a Phase 2 clinical trial in the prevention and reduction of surgical scarring in 2009.

GBT 009 has also been tested in a Phase 1 clinical trial for the preservation of cardiac tissue in patients who had recently had a myocardial infarction (also known as heart attack). The treatment has been well tolerated with no observed acute or chronic immune responses.

Additional animal models of myocardial infarction, stroke and spinal cord injury have demonstrated recovery of damaged tissue utilizing both functional and histological endpoints. Additional in vitro studies have shown the secretion of factors associated with reduced inflammation and immune response suppression; and promising preclinical results have been seen in other therapeutic targets including graft versus host disease, retinitis pigmentosa and type 1 diabetes.