BOSTON—Innovimmune Biotherapeutics Holding, LLC (Brooklyn, New York) presented data demonstrating successful treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in a murine collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model with its proprietary oral small molecule Retinoic acid receptor-related Orphan Receptor gamma t (RORγt) modulators from their INV-17 portfolio. The results were presented at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.
In the CIA study, an INV-17 RORγt modulator lead compound was administered orally for 28 days in a therapeutic regimen following rheumatoid arthritis disease induction. The data demonstrate that mice treated with INV-17 achieved statistically significant reduction in cumulative arthritis score as the primary study end point, in contrast to a vehicle (placebo) group.
Ellen M. Ginzler, MD, MPH
Significant improvement in clinical disease scores in the INV-17 group began on day 13, with maximal therapeutic effects observed on day 16 through day 26 and through the end of the study.
“This is a remarkable finding in that a novel therapeutic approach targeting pathogenic T helper 17 (TH17) cells through RORγt modulation provides superior preclinical treatment efficacy in rheumatoid arthritis. These results, which demonstrate successful rheumatoid arthritis disease amelioration in the absence of toxicity, may provide a novel oral disease-modifying antirheumatic drug treatment strategy with an oral INV-17 drug for rheumatoid arthritis and other TH17-mediated autoimmune diseases,” said Ellen M. Ginzler, MD, MPH, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Medicine and Chief, Division of Rheumatology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York.