Zura Bio Limited and Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) announced that they have entered into a sponsored research agreement focused on further characterizing the pivotal role of Interleukin-7 receptor alpha (IL-7Ra) in Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin (TSLP) and Interleukin-7 (IL-7) signaling pathways. Zura Bio is currently advancing ZB-168, a monoclonal antibody targeting IL-7Ra, for the treatment of immune and inflammatory disorders. IL-7 and TSLP are important cytokines that play fundamental roles in regulating the development, differentiation, and maintenance of immune cells.

This collaboration will further characterize the critical role for IL-7Ra in regulating these pathways and the potential impact on immune and inflammatory disorders. At Benaroya Research Institute, this collaboration will leverage the expertise of Dr. Steve Ziegler, a world-renown authority in TSLP and IL-7 biology. Dr. Ziegler and his colleagues discovered that TSLP was instrumental in initiating the inflammatory cascade that leads to the development of asthma and other allergic diseases.

Since then, the researchers also found TSLP to be critical in other immune system diseases. Dr. Ziegler has studied TSLP since 1993 and has developed many tools and strategies for studying the protein.