Monday, June 23, 2014

Itolizumab at the EULAR 2014 Meeting in Paris


Itolizumab (Alzumab by Biocon) is a humanized IgG1 MAB that selectively targets CD-6, which is involved in co-stimulation, adhesion, and maturation of T cells. Itolizumab down regulates T cell activation and so reduces synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines. It has already been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis.

Now, itolizumab has been introduced to the rheumatogy public with one study. But this study is worth mentioning.
[OP0027]
A. Chopra and colleagues presented: “ITOLIZUMAB, A HUMAN ANTI-CD6 MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY, FOR TREATMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: RESULTS OF A RANDOMIZED, PLACEBO CONTROLLED, PHASE 2 STUDY”. For a dose of 0.2 mg/kg itolizumab ACR20 has been 60%, ACR50 35%, and ACR70 15%. “Overall, at 12 weeks, 58.3% of the itolizumab patients achieved moderate or good response by DAS28-EULAR criteria vs. 20% in MTX-only group; 51.6% of the itolizumab patients maintained moderate or good response at week 24.” Conclusions: “These results provide strong preliminary evidence for the safety and efficacy of itolizumab in combination with MTX in active RA patients with inadequate response to MTX.” N=70

I guess, we’ll hear more of itolizumab. As there is an unmet need of new and effective drugs in psoriatic arthritis; this might be one of these.

Links:
D.S. Krupashankar et al.: Efficacy and safety of itolizumab, a novel anti-CD6 monoclonal antibody, in patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis: Results of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase-III study. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24703722


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