Tick saliva-derived drug shows promise in mid-stage rare skin disease study

Scientists often lean on nature to develop drugs, for instance, the decades-old anticoagulant warfarin is derived from a chemical found naturally in sweet clover and other plants, while the more contemporary blood thinner Angiomax is a synthetic form of a compound found in leach saliva. Akari Therapeutics, a drug developer based in London and New York, has taken to another blood-sucking parasite — the tick — to treat a range of inflammatory, rare diseases.