AnaptysBio, a biotechnology company developing antibody product candidates focused on unmet medical needs in inflammation and immuno-oncology, today announced first-in-human dosing of its proprietary anti-IL-33 antibody (ANB020) in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The double-blind, placebo-controlled single- and multiple-ascending dose trial is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ANB020 in healthy volunteers.
Interleukin-33, or IL-33, is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that multiple studies have indicated is a central mediator of atopic diseases, including atopic dermatitis, food allergies and asthma. IL-33 acts on white blood cell types that subsequently release atopic disease-mediating cytokines such as IL-5, IL-13 and IL-4. Since ANB020 potently inhibits IL-33 function and acts upstream broadly across the key cell types involved in atopy, AnaptysBio believes its mechanism has potential advantages in human therapy over agents that block only a subset of the cytokines responsible for atopic diseases. The role of IL-33 signaling in asthma has been genetically validated through human studies published in the medical literature.
Subsequent to the completion of this Phase 1 study, AnaptysBio plans to continue clinical development of ANB020 in patients with atopic dermatitis, peanut allergy and asthma.
