Project - Sublingual IL2 (BL SLIT I)

The aim of this project is to develop low dose IL-2 for treatment of early onset juvenile Type I diabetes. Low dose injectable IL-2 in animal models has been shown to restore the balance between regulatory and effector T cells and, in this way, can help to reverse autoimmunity and the development of type I diabetes. Looking ahead, we anticipate that having a suitable oral formulation of IL-2 to use in children with recent onset type I diabetes will be important.

Once the proof of concept has been achieved for type I diabetes, we expect that sublingual IL-2 can be further developed for a range of other autoimmune/allergic disorders, all of which are likely to benefit from restoring the balance between regulatory and effector T cell.

These diseases include:

• Asthma
• Psoriasis
• Lupus
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Multiple sclerosis