This is a Phase 2b dose-ranging, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to assess the efficacy and safety of simtuzumab in subjects with PSC. Simtuzumab (GS-6624) is a humanized lgG4 monoclonal antibody against LOXL2. It is hypothesized that the inhibition of LOXL2 can prevent the progression of, and possibly reverse, fibrosis in subjects with ongoing liver disease.

Basic Research

Basic Research

Public Service

Candida species are the fourth leading cause of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections in the United States with an attributable mortality rate of 40-50%. Oral candidiasis is the most common fungal infection encountered in the general dental practice and immunocompromised individuals, including AIDS patients, are particularly susceptible. Candida albicans is the most frequently isolated species in oral thrush patients. C. albicans and C. glabrata are increasingly being co-isolated from fungal lesions in the oral cavity.C.

Applied Research

Basic Research

Most of what we know about antifungal drug research is derived from studies of nonpathogenic model fungi, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which can easily be inserted into high throughput screening platforms, but are unsuitable as pan-fungal surrogates. Alternatively, species-specific antifungal development is unrealistic due to cost and lack of market return on research investment.

Most successful human vaccines elicit protective antibodies. CD4+ T cell help is essential for a strong antibody response, especially against poorly immunogenic polysaccharide antigens. To accomplish this, polysaccharide antigens are typically conjugated to highly immunogenic T cell epitopes. Unfortunately, this approach is expensive, only targets a subset of capsular polysaccharide antigens, and depends on allelically variable CD4+ T cell help.