Genomics and Greywolf Forge Alliance to Target Genetic Cause of Autoimmune Disease

OXFORD, England – April 29, 2026 – In a significant move toward precision medicine, data-science firm Genomics and clinical-stage biotech Greywolf Therapeutics have launched a strategic relationship to develop novel treatments for autoimmune diseases. The collaboration, announced today, aims to shift the treatment paradigm away from managing symptoms and toward correcting the underlying genetic drivers of these debilitating conditions.

The partnership will leverage Genomics' massive genetic data repository and analytical power to guide the development of Greywolf’s first-in-class therapies, which target a pair of enzymes known as ERAP1 and ERAP2. These enzymes have been identified as key culprits in triggering the immune system to attack the body's own healthy tissues.

Beyond Suppression: A New Strategy for Autoimmunity

Autoimmune diseases, a category of over 80 conditions including psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and inflammatory bowel disease, affect an estimated 1 in 10 people globally. These disorders occur when the immune system mistakenly identifies its own cells as foreign invaders, leading to chronic inflammation, pain, and tissue damage.

The global market for autoimmune treatments is valued at well over $100 billion, yet it is dominated by therapies that offer broad immunosuppression. While drugs like anti-inflammatories and biologics can provide relief for many, they often come with significant side effects, require lifelong administration, and fail to work for a substantial portion of patients. They suppress the fire but do little to remove the spark that started it.

This new alliance represents a fundamental shift in strategy. Instead of broadly dampening the entire immune system, the goal is to pinpoint and neutralize the specific biological process that initiates the autoimmune attack in the first place.

"Current treatments for autoimmune diseases can be associated with side effects or variable responses, which may affect long-term disease management for some patients," noted Professor Xenofon Baraliakos, Head of Rheumatology at the Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet in Germany, in a statement. He emphasized the importance of investigating new therapeutic targets and understanding shared genetic pathways to address the underlying drivers of disease.

The ERAP Enigma: A Molecular Switch for the Immune System

At the heart of this new approach are the enzymes ERAP1 and ERAP2. These proteins function like molecular editors inside our cells, trimming down protein fragments, or peptides, into a precise size. These trimmed peptides are then presented on the cell surface as antigens, serving as a signal for the immune system's T cells to inspect.

In healthy individuals, this process allows the immune system to differentiate between healthy 'self' cells and foreign or abnormal cells that need to be destroyed. However, scientific research has revealed that common genetic variations in the ERAP genes can cause this editing process to go awry. The faulty enzymes can create improperly trimmed peptides that are incorrectly flagged as dangerous, triggering a T-cell attack on healthy tissue and sparking an autoimmune cascade.

Greywolf Therapeutics is pioneering a novel class of small-molecule drugs designed to inhibit ERAP function. Their lead autoimmune candidate, GRWD0715, is an oral ERAP1 inhibitor currently in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for axial spondyloarthritis, a painful inflammatory condition primarily affecting the spine. By blocking the enzyme, the therapy aims to prevent the creation of the specific auto-antigens that drive the disease, effectively removing the target that the immune system is attacking.

"We believe our novel targets hold great promise for treating a number of autoimmune conditions, and our Phase 1 study in axial spondyloarthritis is just the start of delivering on that potential," said Peter Joyce, Co-founder & CEO of Greywolf Therapeutics.

A Marriage of Big Data and Biotech

The partnership marries Greywolf’s targeted drug development with the immense analytical power of Genomics. Spun out of the University of Oxford, Genomics has built what it calls the world's largest harmonized genotype-phenotype data resource, combining genetic information from millions of individuals with their health outcomes.

Using its proprietary AI-enabled tools, the company can analyze this vast dataset to identify with unmatched statistical power how specific ERAP variants influence the risk of multiple autoimmune conditions. This genetic validation is crucial, as drug targets supported by human genetic evidence are more than twice as likely to succeed in clinical trials.

The insights will provide Greywolf with a detailed genetic roadmap, helping them de-risk their pipeline and make more informed decisions.

"Understanding the genetic drivers of these diseases is crucial to assessing which patient populations to initially focus on, and we look forward to using the insights from our partnership with Genomics to further strengthen and de-risk our pipeline," Joyce stated.

For Genomics, the collaboration is a chance to apply its powerful data engine to a pressing health problem and see its insights translated into tangible therapies.

"We are delighted to be working with Greywolf Therapeutics to support the development of their disease pipeline using our unique datasets and scientific expertise," said Professor Sir Peter Donnelly, CEO and Co-Founder of Genomics. This work holds a personal significance for Donnelly, who, during his time as Director of the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford, led the large-scale studies that first pinpointed ERAP1 and ERAP2 as key autoimmune risk genes. This collaboration brings his foundational academic research full circle.

"Through this relationship, we look forward to building on those insights to better understand where targeting these genes could have the biggest potential benefit to patients, helping them live longer, healthier lives," Donnelly added.

This alliance between a data-driven TechBio and a clinical-stage biotech exemplifies a modern approach to drug discovery, aiming to make the notoriously expensive and time-consuming process more efficient and precise. By identifying the right target and the right patient population from the outset, the two companies hope to accelerate the journey of a new generation of autoimmune treatments from the lab to the clinic, offering new hope to millions of patients worldwide.