akari is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics to treat orphan autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. akari’s lead drug, coversin, a second-generation and potentially best-in-class complement inhibitor, acts on complement component-c5, preventing release of c5a and formation of c5b – 9 (also known as the membrane attack complex or mac). coversin is a recombinant small protein (16,740 da) derived from a native protein discovered in the saliva of the ornithodoros moubata tick, where it modulates the host immune system to allow the parasite to feed without alerting the host to its presence or provoking an immune response.