On the verge of top-line data from its phase IIb trial with oral small-molecule CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4) antagonist zelnecirnon in atopic dermatitis (AD), due around the middle of this year, Rapt Therapeutics Inc. said the U.S. FDA has imposed a clinical hold on that study with the otherwise promising drug, also known as RPT-193, in AD as well as the phase IIa trial with the same compound in asthma.
Kinesin-like protein KIF18A inhibitors have been reported in a Humanwell Healthcare (Group) Co. Ltd. patent and are described as potentially useful for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, autoimmune disease, cancer, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis and ulcerative colitis.
Almirall S.A. has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Novo Nordisk A/S for global rights to develop and commercialize the IL-21-blocking monoclonal antibody NN-8828 in certain fields, including immune inflammatory dermatological diseases.
Kalvista Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s positive phase III news Feb. 13 with sebetralstat, an oral on-demand kallikrein inhibitor, in hereditary angioedema (HAE), sparked Wall Street speculation about competitor Pharvaris BV with deucrictibant, a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist.
Kalvista Pharmaceuticals Inc. is promising to “change the paradigm” in the treatment of hereditary angioedema, after announcing positive phase III data for its oral on-demand kallikrein inhibitor sebetralstat. Rather than waiting four to five hours to self-administer therapy, as is the case for approved injectable on-demand therapies, there was a median time to dosing of 10 minutes after the start of an attack in the ongoing open label extension trial and a median time to dosing of 41 minutes in the 136-patient placebo-controlled phase 3 trial.
Medicxi is spinning six of its early stage companies into an immuno-dermatology specialist and turbocharging development with a $100 million seed round.
Alys Pharmaceuticals Inc. has launched with a focus in the field of immuno-dermatology. Supported by $100 million in financing from Medicxi, Alys was formed through the aggregation of six asset-centric Medicxi companies: Aldena Therapeutics Inc., Graegis Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Granular Therapeutics Ltd., Klirna Biotech Sàrl, Nira Biosciences Inc. and Vimela Therapeutics Inc.
Guangzhou Fermion Technology Co. Ltd. has received IND approval by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for its TYK2 JH2 inhibitor, FZ-007-119.
DP Technology Ltd. has nominated DPT-0218, a novel small molecule targeting Kv1.3, as a preclinical candidate for the treatment of various autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and atopic dermatitis.