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ABX464, an anti-inflammatory to prevent severe forms

In the shadow of vaccines, treatments against Covid-19 are the other key to facing the pandemic. Olivier Véran recently, and for the first time, presented two treatments which give hope of being able to treat the disease: interferons and monoclonal antibodies. French research is also working on potential treatments that could soon be marketed. Jean-Marc Steens, infectious disease specialist and medical director of the company Abivax, presents ABX464, an anti-inflammatory which aims to prevent severe forms of Covid-19 in hospitalized patients.

– How it works ?

We discovered the ABX464 molecule 5 years ago to treat inflammation in IBD (chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, editor’s note), reveals Jean-Marc Steens, infectious disease specialist and medical director of Abivax. When the Covid arrived and we realized that the severe forms of the disease are caused by hyperinflammation which causes respiratory distress, we thought that our molecule could prevent this hyperinflammation.

The medicine is in the form of a capsule which can be taken at home. It should be taken once a day for 28 days. We believe that the molecule can also have an effect on tissue distribution so if the patient has long or medium term lesions, we hope to be able to treat them.

– For who ?

The medicine is intended for patients positive for the virus who are at risk of developing severe forms of the disease, therefore the elderly or those under 65 years of age who present with comorbidities. The goal is to prevent high volume oxygen administration and / or death. This is not suitable for patients who are already in intensive care since the inflammation is too established and it is therefore too late for our medicine. Our goal is to avoid going into intensive care.

This drug is expected to be effective against all types of variants. It acts on different inflammatory pathways which are most certainly common to all the variants.

It is also hoped that taking the treatment for such a period could inhibit long Covid but it is not yet known. Long-term follow-ups are currently being carried out to see if the fibrotic lesions caused by inflammation due to Covid-19 can be reduced.

– Where is the study?

We started our randomized studies with placebo between May and June 2020. Our protocol plans to include more than 1000 patients. For now, the MiR-AGE study is going well, with more than 400 voluntary patients who have already received the drug, of which a third in Europe and the rest in Latin America. As we have been studying this molecule for several years, we already have a good perspective on its tolerance and the fact that it does not cause major side effects. We have been treating IBD patients for over 3 years and they are responding well to treatment.”

– For when ?

We hope for commercialization by the end of the year. We are awaiting the results of phase 2B-3 of the study, which should occur by the end of the second quarter. If they are satisfactory, we will seek regulatory clearance for the third quarter. At the same time, we are working to increase our drug production capacity..”


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