Artax completes patient enrollment in phase 2a trial of AX-158 for psoriasis

Key takeaways:

• The Nck modulator is being studied in 30 patients with plaque psoriasis.
• Artax believes the investigational drug could have wide-ranging capabilities in the autoimmune space.

Artax Biopharma has recruited all 30 patients to a phase 2a clinical trial of AX-158, its investigative Nck modulator for autoimmune diseases, the company announced in a press release.

The proof-of-mechanism study will randomly assign patients with plaque psoriasis from multiple centers in the United Kingdom 2:1 to receive either one dose of AX-158 or placebo for 28 days. Patients will be followed for an additional 30 days to assess safety.

“The data will include the safety and tolerability of AX-158 in psoriasis patients and clinical assessments, such as PASI and DLQI. However, we are most eager to see the changes in a wide panel of disease-relevant biomarkers, which will help contextualize the impact and cadence of the response to treating via this orthogonal approach to current autoimmune therapies,” D. Scott Batty Jr., MD, chief medical officer of Artax Biopharma, said in the release.

AX-158 is the company’s lead product. It has shown broad cytokine modulation and mixed lymphocyte reactions in preclinical trials, and the company believes it could have potential in treating a wide variety of autoimmune disorders.

Artax anticipates releasing topline results in the last quarter of this year.