Alentis ‘Shares Their Colors’ for ANCA-Associated Glomerulonephritis and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Basel, Switzerland – 28 February 2023
Rare Disease Day takes place annually on the last day of February to raise awareness for the more than 7,000 rare diseases and their impact on patients’ lives. Physicians, patients, patient advocates, researchers and medical & biotech companies from around the world shine a light on these little-known diseases and champion the need for education, research funding and access to treatment.
Alentis has chosen to spread the word through a team event showing support for patients with Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody (ANCA)-Associated Glomerulonephritis and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF).
ANCA-Associated Glomerulonephritis is an autoimmune disease affecting the filters in the kidney. The autoantibodies called ANCAs attack the small blood vessels in the filters and can damage them causing inflammation and scarring that can lead to kidney failure and the need for dialysis or even a kidney transplant. There is no cure; treatment focuses on remission and maintenance therapy.
Alentis Therapeutics is developing breakthrough treatments based on anti-Claudin 1 (CLDN1) monoclonal antibodies (mAb) for CLDN1+ tumors and fibrotic diseases. ALE.F02 is a highly selective anti-CLDN1 mAb that recognizes pathological overexpressed and conformation-dependent CLDN1 epitopes and is being investigated for the treatment of fibrotic diseases in the kidney, lung and liver. Alentis plans to start recruitment for a phase 2 study in ANCA-Associated Glomerulonephritis in Q2 2023 following proven safety and tolerability in the single ascending dose arm of a phase 1 healthy volunteer study.
“More than 70,000 Americans suffer from ANCA associated vasculitis — a severe inflammatory disease that causes kidney failure, chronic suffering and shortens lives with a worse outlook than some cancers. The varied nature of patient symptoms often delays diagnosis. Standard therapies are quite toxic causing frequent side-effects — and not always effective,“ said Professor David Jayne, University of Cambridge. “Not only must physicians have a better understanding of this disease, there is also a real need for better therapies to reduce current toxic treatments and improve the chances of patient recovery — especially kidney function.“
Alentis Therapeutics is simultaneously pursuing pre-clinical development of ALE.F02 in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis to be IND ready in the second half of 2023. IPF is a serious chronic disease affecting tissue surrounding the air sacs or alveoli in the lungs, resulting in a thickening of lung tissue. Over time, this thickening causes permanent scarring of the lungs, called fibrosis, which makes breathing increasingly difficult. There is currently no cure for this condition with treatments only slowing the progression of IPF.
Professor Wim Wuyts, at KU Leuven, said, “We must find a real cure for this disease. To improve care we need to go back to the bench and improve our understanding of the key mechanisms driving the disease. IPF affects far more people than we originally thought, and it significantly impacts the quality of their lives. This remains a deadly disease notwithstanding the progress made in recent years.”
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About Alentis Therapeutics
Alentis Therapeutics, the Claudin-1 company, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that focuses on developing breakthrough treatments for CLDN1+ tumors and organ fibrosis.
Alentis is pioneering a novel approach to modify and reverse the course of disease progression targeting Claudin-1 (CLDN1), a previously unexploited target that plays a key role in the pathology of tumors with immune evasive properties and fibrotic disease across multiple organs. Alentis is the only company developing potential treatments for solid cancers and fibrosis targeting Claudin-1.
Alentis’ portfolio of anti-CLDN1 monoclonal antibodies includes a novel class of anti-cancer therapies designed to reprogram the tumor microenvironment (TME). The interplay between cancer cells and their surrounding microenvironment is highly promising for drug development as many cancers use the TME to build barriers that shield against immune system attack. Alentis’ lead oncology asset, ALE.C04, is the first potential treatment to target CLDN1 to open up the mechanical barrier that characterizes immune-excluded CLDN1+ tumors, thus making the tumors vulnerable to treatment.
In addition, Alentis’ pipeline includes a first-in-class therapy designed to modify and reverse the course of advanced organ fibrosis. ALE.F02, which is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials, is designed to target pathological overexpression of CLDN1 outside of the tight junction to resolve and reverse organ fibrosis, and is being investigated for the treatment of fibrotic disease in the kidney, lung and liver.
The company was founded in 2019 based on ground-breaking research in the laboratory of Prof. Thomas Baumert MD at the University of Strasbourg and the French National Institute of Health (Inserm). Alentis is headquartered in Basel’s pharma-biotech hub in Switzerland with a subsidiary for R&D in Strasbourg, France.
For more information, visit https://alentis.ch
For more information please contact:
Alentis Therapeutics
Valentina Aureggi, PhD
Muriel Fisser
info@alentis.ch