ABLYNX PRESENTS UNIQUE NANOBODY DRUG INHALATION TECHNOLOGY AT THE RESPIRATORY DRUG DELIVERY EUROPE 2015 CONFERENCE
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
GHENT, Belgium, 7 May 2015 - Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX; OTC: ABYLY]
presented an overview of its unique and versatile Nanobody platform and its
application for inhaled biological medication at the Respiratory Drug Delivery
(RDD) Europe 2015 Conference (Nice, France, May 5-8).
The presentation focused on Ablynx's wholly-owned, innovative, anti-RSV inhaled
Nanobody therapeutic, ALX-0171, which is being developed for the treatment of
established RSV infections in the general paediatric population.
In vitro studies[1] have demonstrated that ALX-0171 is potent and shows superior
virus neutralisation. The robustness of the Nanobody also allows administration
via inhalation, enabling delivery of ALX-0171 directly to the site of viral
infection (i.e. the respiratory tract, including the lower airways) where it
inhibits viral replication and neutralises viral activity by blocking virus
uptake in the cells.
In vivo proof-of-concept with ALX-0171 has been achieved using a neonatal animal
model, demonstrating that daily inhalation of the Nanobody for three consecutive
days in animals with established infection, resulted in a marked reduction of
symptoms of illness, viral titres and RSV-associated lung pathology. Clinically,
ALX-0171 has been shown to be well tolerated in more than 100 adults, including
subjects with sensitive (hyper-reactive) airways.
In December 2014, Ablynx initiated a first-in-infant Phase IIa study in the
Northern Hemisphere to evaluate the safety, tolerability and clinical activity
(including effect on feeding, respiratory rate, wheezing, coughing, general
appearance and clinical scores) of inhaled ALX-0171 in otherwise healthy infants
(aged 3-24 months) diagnosed with RSV and hospitalised for a lower respiratory
tract infection. The lead-in part of the study with five infants has been
successfully completed and recruitment is now on-going for the placebo-
controlled part of the trial for which it is intended to recruit a total of 30
infants. Recruitment for this latter phase already started in the Northern
Hemisphere but the RSV season has now finished there and preparations are
currently on-going to open clinical study centres in the Asia-Pacific region
where the RSV season occurs later in the calendar year. The goal is to complete
recruitment by the end of 2015 with results expected during the first half of
2016.
The presentation at the RDD Conference has been made available on the Ablynx
website under the section R&D portfolio.
Edwin Moses, Chief Executive Officer of Ablynx, said: "Ablynx is pioneering the
development of a potentially first-in-class treatment for RSV, which we believe
is an area of major unmet need, especially in infants. We are utilising the
robustness of Nanobodies to deliver them via nebulisation, a technique which may
be beneficial in other pulmonary diseases. ALX-0171 is one of our wholly-owned,
lead proprietary programmes in clinical development which we are currently
advancing internally."
About Respiratory Syncytial Virus
RSV remains the primary cause of infant hospitalisation and virus associated
deaths in infants. In addition, RSV infections have been linked to an increased
risk for asthma development later in life[2]. Current treatment of patients
infected with RSV is primarily focussed on symptomatic relief, hence the need
for an effective and specific anti-RSV therapeutic. It is estimated that there
are more than 300,000 children (aged <5 years) hospitalised each year in the
seven major pharmaceutical markets and the reported infection rate is 70-80% in
children under two years of age[3]. In addition, RSV infection is a significant
cause of pulmonary disease in transplant patients, immune-compromised subjects
and the elderly.
About Ablynx
Ablynx is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of Nanobodies®,
proprietary therapeutic proteins based on single-domain antibody fragments,
which combine the advantages of conventional antibody drugs with some of the
features of small-molecule drugs. Ablynx is dedicated to creating new medicines
which will make a real difference to society. Today, the Company has more than
30 proprietary and partnered programmes in development in various therapeutic
areas including inflammation, haematology, oncology and respiratory disease. The
Company has collaborations with multiple pharmaceutical companies including
AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eddingpharm, Merck & Co, Inc., Merck Serono and
Novartis. The Company is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. More information can
be found on www.ablynx.com.
For more information, please contact Ablynx:
Dr Edwin Moses
CEO
t: +32 (0)9 262 00 07
m: +32 (0)473 39 50 68
e: edwin.moses(at)ablynx.com
Marieke Vermeersch
Associate Director Investor Relations
t: +32 (0)9 262 00 82
m: +32 (0)479 49 06 03
e: marieke.vermeersch(at)ablynx.com
Ablynx media relations Consilium Strategic Communications:
Mary-Jane Elliott, Jonathan Birt, Chris Welsh, Lindsey Neville
t: +44 203 709 5700
e : ablynx(at)consilium-comms.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Study results presented at the Human Antibodies and Hybridomas conference in
2014; presentation on Ablynx website
[2] Sigurs et al, Thorax 2010; Backman et al, Acta Pediatr 2014
[3] Hall et al, NEJM, 2009; extrapolation based on estimated US prevalence
Pdf version of the press release:
http://hugin.info/137912/R/1919287/687129.pdf
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originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Ablynx via GlobeNewswire
[HUG#1919287]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 07.05.2015 - 07:00 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 391612
Anzahl Zeichen: 6797
contact information:
Town:
Ghent/Zwijnaarde
Kategorie:
Business News
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