New immunotherapy for treatment of peanut allergy

A HOLD FreeRelease 3 | eTurboNews | eTN
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Written by Linda Hohnholz

Aravax, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing the first therapy for peanut allergy which is designed to be safe, effective and convenient, today announces that it has received a green light for its Investigational New Drug (IND) application from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

PVX108 is a next-generation, allergen-specific immunotherapy using peptides that represent critical fragments of peanut proteins to precisely target the T cells driving peanut allergy. Administered once per month, therapy is designed to precisely induce tolerance to peanut protein without the safety concerns constraining the use of the only registered therapy which uses natural extracts from peanuts. The presence of whole peanut allergens in those extracts exposes patients to significant risks of anaphylaxis (Chu et al. The Lancet 2019).

The IND will allow Aravax to progress the Phase 2 clinical trial program into the U.S. and expand its global operations.

“We are excited to share that FDA has allowed Aravax to commence a Phase 2 efficacy study to identify the optimal dose of PVX108 in children with peanut allergy in the United States. This is a therapeutic area greatly underserved, and we believe our approach has significant advantages over available treatments with its precise mechanism of action and safety profile already proven in Phase 1 clinical trials.” said Aravax CEO, Dr Pascal Hickey.

Previously, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1 trial in 66 peanut-allergic adults (AVX-001) showed no evidence of adverse events of clinical concern. Additionally, ex vivo studies providing a surrogate measure of safety (basophil activation) in 185 peanut-allergic blood donors confirmed a lack of basophil reactivity to PVX108 in contrast to peanut extract. These data demonstrate that PVX108 has a highly favourable safety profile for treatment of peanut allergic patients, including those with severe allergy.

Aravax’s first patent covering the lead composition PVX108 has also been granted in the U.S., EU and other jurisdictions. Additional patent families are also progressing well in these jurisdictions.

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Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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