First human study of bimekizumab for psoriasis

[Fred]

Another bio in the pipeline for psoriasis patients.

Quote:

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Aims:
To assess safety, pharmacokinetics (PK) and clinical efficacy of bimekizumab (formerly UCB4940), a novel humanized monoclonal antibody and dual inhibitor of interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-17F, in subjects with mild plaque psoriasis.

Methods:
Randomized, double-blind, first-in-human study of bimekizumab in 39 subjects who received single-dose intravenous bimekizumab (8–640 mg) or placebo (NCT02529956).

Results:
Bimekizumab demonstrated dose-proportional linear PK and was tolerated across the dose range assessed. No subject discontinued due to treatment-emergent adverse events and no severe adverse events were reported. Bimekizumab demonstrated fast onset of clinically-meaningful effects on skin of patients with mild psoriasis as early as Week 2. Maximal improvements (100% or near 100% reductions from baseline) in all measures of disease activity were observed between Weeks 8–12 in subjects receiving 160–640 mg bimekizumab. The duration of effect at doses ≥160 mg was evident up to Weeks 12–20 after a single intravenous dose, dependent on endpoint.

Conclusions:
This is the first study to demonstrate the safety, tolerability and clinical efficacy of a dual IL-17A and IL-17F inhibitor, in subjects with mild psoriasis. Bimekizumab showed fast onset of clinically-meaningful efficacy by Week 2, with a maximal or near-maximal magnitude of response that was maintained up to study Weeks 12–20. These findings support the continued clinical development of bimekizumab for diseases mediated by both IL-17A and IL-17F, including psoriasis.

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com

*Early view funding unknown.