Accro Bioscience
Pioneering Novel Drug Development Based on Regulated Cell Death and Inflammation

Accro Bioscience is a clinical-stage biotech company established by researchers with strong expertise in the molecular mechanisms of regulated cell death (RCD) and related pathogenesis of human diseases. The company is a science-driven, goal-oriented, innovative drug developer focusing on improving the existing therapeutic standards of inflammatory, fibrotic, and autoimmune diseases and cancer.

Based on the research insights on RCD from Dr. Sudan He, who currently presides as the chief scientific advisor, Accro is keen on developing first-in-class drugs that target proteins involved in the regulation of cell death and inflammation.

Dysregulation of RCD and inflammation are involved in the pathogenesis of many human diseases, such as autoimmune diseases and cancer. For example, RCD and inflammation can activate each other and generate an amplification loop in diseases like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), an inflammatory and fibrotic disease. Armed with an advanced understanding of the RCD and inflammation signaling pathway, Accro has developed a number of novel compounds that are capable of effectively interfering with the amplification loop of these diseases. The leading compound, AC-003, is currently in phase I clinical trial in USA and China.

“It has been confirmed that the similar mechanism is responsible for driving pathogenesis in many clinical conditions, and research on RIPK protein kinase can be instrumental in developing novel drugs for treating multiple diseases,” says Dr. Xiaohu (Jason) Zhang, CEO and co-founder of Accro Bioscience.

Focusing on a single pathway cannot resolve all medical concerns in inflammatory diseases. Accro, to that end, has broadened its research across other inflammation signaling pathways, including the JAK-STAT pathway. The research team at Accro is pursuing a highly selective TYK2/ JAK1 inhibitor to tackle many cytokines associated with this pathway, as the existing drugs— although effective— cause significant side effects. This program is at the IND enabling stage, and the candidate compound is expected to be tested in healthy volunteers in early 2023. Another program of Accro Bioscience centers on the NOD/RIPK2 pathway, with AC-101 scheduled to file the clinical application in Australia by the end of 2022. Furthermore, three preclinical candidates are deep in their pipeline, including a highly selective TYK2 inhibitor and novel compounds targeting TLR/IRAK and RIPK3. These compounds have the potential to treat a broad range of diseases, such as psoriasis, SLE, RA and cancer.
“We pay attention to therapeutic mechanisms in our research to improve the success rate of drug discovery. For example, to understand the precise regulation of specific cell death and inflammation pathways in diseases, we test our hypothesis in patient samples and validate the efficacy of our compounds in multiple animal disease models,” says Dr. He.

In the near future, Accro is planning to partner with larger pharma companies to strengthen their research programs. These partnerships will provide Accro Bioscience with much-needed capital to support its research while de-risking Accro Bioscience’s pipeline; on the other hand, the pharma companies will gain valuable assets with novel mechanisms of action. With their powerful development machinery, the pharma companies can quickly validate the efficacy and reach proof of concept.

Driven by a relentless passion for developing innovative drugs, Accro has poised itself to emerge as a game-changer in the drug discovery space and is effectively fulfilling its mission. “We focus on rebalancing the immune system, the guardian of our body. Fittingly, the mission of Accro Bioscience is to be the guardian of patients’ health,” said Dr. Xiaohu Zhang.