Alma’s therapeutic approach derives from the understanding of what keeps most people healthy, preventing them from developing autoimmune diseases, despite being constantly exposed to a myriad of triggers.
The Company’s Scientific founder discovered that extracellular Heat Shock Proteins (HSP) regulate the immune system and control regulatory T cell (Treg) migration, function and homeostasis.
Whereas HSP are expressed at very low levels under physiological conditions, they are abundantly expressed at the inflammatory site, serving as internal danger signals that alerts the immune system to take action. Highly immunogenic, they provoke an effective immune response and are recognized by Treg as self-antigens.
In the healthy individual, HSP at the inflammatory site trigger local Treg activation and expansion, keeping the immune response under strict control and preventing run-away inflammation. When local regulatory control malfunctions and potentially harmful autoreactive responses arise, immune control may be restored by directing potent ‘HSP-specific’ Treg from the peripheral circulation to the inflammatory site.