Funding outcome

Each year, 15 million babies are born too early. Health issues arising from preterm birth (PTB) (less than 37 weeks completed pregnancy)are the leading cause of death in children under five. In 2015, PTB was responsible for approximately 1 million recorded deaths. Inflammation is the body's normal reaction to infections and injuries. However, inflammation during pregnancy can cause PTB and damage the infant's growing organs. Children who don't die are often very ill, and these health issues can continue into adulthood. Maternal infection, high stress, lifelong trauma, and genetics can all result in inflammation leading to PTB. Doctors lack helpful medications to stop this inflammation or early labour. Interleukin (IL) 6 is a protein that plays a significant role in this process. Our team studies HSJ633, a molecule that reduces IL6's ability to propel this inflammation. Early animal studies show that HSJ633 blocks PTB caused by infectious stimulants. Before we can study HSJ633 in people, we need more animal data on the best dosage, treatment timing, and HSJ633's effectiveness. We will induce inflammation in pregnant mice and test HSJ633 for these factors. I hypothesize that HSJ633 will safely suppress inflammation, decrease PTB, and improve the health of offspring in these mice. We will also determine if HSJ633 is safe for fetuses. We will examine the birth weights, growth, development, and fertility of the offspring and grandchildren born from the mice who received HSJ633. These pre-clinical trials will confirm that HSJ633 works and is safe in animals, and is a therapeutic that should be brought forward to the FDA/Health Canada for pre-investigational new drug discussion.