EASI scores fall 71% with APG777 for patients with atopic dermatitis
Patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis experienced a 71% decrease in Eczema Area and Severity Index scores from baseline through 16 weeks with APG777, an anti-IL-13 antibody from Apogee Therapeutics, according to the company.
Injections included 6 for APG777, 11 for lebrikizumab-lbkz and 10 for dupilumab. APG777’s EASI score reduction surpassed other biologics at 16 weeks. The safety profile was consistent with other biologics.
The biologic achieved this decrease and additional positive outcomes with fewer injections than other biologic treatments as well, Michael Henderson, MD, CEO of Apogee, told Healio. More patients achieved EASI-75 response with APG777 compared with placebo. Data were derived from press release.
“IL-13 is the inflammatory cytokine that drives atopic dermatitis and a broad range of type 2 inflammatory disorders,” Henderson said. Dupilumab (Dupixent; Regeneron, Sanofi) and lebrikizumab-lbks (Ebglyss, Lilly) also target IL-13 to prevent flares and improve lesions, he continued. “We are a very similar binder to IL-13,” Henderson said, “just with a much-improved antibody.”
Other biologics begin with dosing every week or every other week before extending to every 4 weeks and then every 8 and 12 weeks, he said, noting that risankizumab-rzaa (Skyrizi, AbbVie) is a market leader with its quarterly dose schedule.
“In AD, the market leader can only reach every 2 week dosing, compared to other indications like Skyrizi, where quarterly options are now available,” Henderson said.
Apogee has optimized APG777with half-life extension technology for high titers that lead to a longer half-life in the body, Henderson said.
“That helps us to get to about three to five times that half-life in the body for our antibody vs. those first-generation antibodies,” he said. “We can do an injection every 3 to 6 months, we hope, what takes others every 2 to 4 weeks to do.”
