CSL and Alentis Therapeutics have entered into an exclusive global collaboration agreement to co-develop and co-promote lixudebart, which has the potential to become a first-in-class therapy targeting claudin-1 across a range of kidney, liver and other diseases.
Lixudebart is currently being evaluated in the ongoing phase 2 trial in patients with ANCA (antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies)-associated vasculitis with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (AAV-RPGN), a rare and potentially life-threatening autoimmune disease that can cause irreversible kidney damage and end-stage renal disease.
With a novel mechanism of action, lixudebart exerts potent anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects to potentially prevent and reverse organ damage in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and numerous other kidney, liver and lung diseases. The ongoing phase 2 trial is designed to translate these mechanistic effects into meaningful clinical impact.
The collaboration brings together Alentis’ scientific expertise as the leading clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company targeting claudin-1 and CSL’s global development and commercialisation capabilities in nephrology, with a shared goal of bringing innovative and highly impactful treatment options to patients with rare kidney and liver diseases.
In addition to AAV-RPGN, the two companies will advance lixudebart as a novel treatment for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a rare progressive kidney disease, and for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), an autoimmune chronic liver disease.
