Sanofi
SNY,
on Friday released positive trial results for its investigational eczema treatment, notching a win that stemmed from the company’s recent dealmaking to bolster its immunology pipeline.
Patients treated with the drug amlitelimab saw up to 61.5% improvement on an eczema index after 16 weeks, on average, with further improvement seen through 24 weeks, Sanofi said in a release. The results, presented Friday at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress in Berlin, showed that the treatment significantly improved moderate to severe cases of atopic dermatitis in adults whose condition is not adequately controlled by topical medications, the company said.
The eczema treatment was a key asset Sanofi added to its pipeline in 2021 with its $1.1 billion acquisition of the clinical-stage biopharma company Kymab. Amlitelimab faces competition including Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s
REGN,
own blockbuster Dupixent and rocatinlimab, which Amgen Inc.
AMGN,
is jointly developing with Kyowa Kirin
KYKOY,
Across the range of doses, amlitelimab treatment resulted in significant improvements in all of the study’s key secondary endpoints, including a clinical assessment of disease severity, Sanofi said Friday.
Topline results from the study were previously released in June.
Less frequent dosing could be a key feature separating amlitelimab from some of its competitors, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger wrote in a late September report. The “ability to pursue a differentiated dosing regimen could be very meaningful to patients,” Dr. Naimish Patel, Sanofi’s head of global development, immunology and inflammation, said in a statement Friday.
Amlitelimab also works differently from Dupixent, targeting the OX40-Ligand, a key immune regulator and aiming to restore balance between pro-inflammatory and regulatory T cells.
Sanofi plans to launch a phase 3 development program for amlitelimab in atopic dermatitis in the first half of next year, Patel said in a statement.
Sanofi’s American depositary receipts were down 0.2% Friday morning and have gained 12.9% in the year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX
has gained 13.9%.
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