The company announced its decision Tuesday in a
series of posts on Twitter. In what Quench Bio called a “successful failure,” the company said its drug target proved undruggable to its efforts.
Quench was developing an approach to inhibit Gasdermin D, which was believed to be a key target at the core of multiple inflammatory cell death pathways, including pyroptosis and NETosis. When pyroptosis or NETosis pathways are activated, gasdermin is processed and forms lytic pores on the cell membrane, allowing release of inflammatory cytokines, alarmins, DNA and NETs. Pyroptosis and NETosis are associated with numerous inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), as well as other diseases.