COUR Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of first-in-class, disease-modifying therapies designed to induce antigen-specific tolerance for immune-mediated diseases, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in its Phase 1b/2a proof-of-concept clinical trial evaluating CNP-106 as a potential treatment for people living with generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG).
“Currently approved treatments for gMG work via broad immunosuppression and do not address the underlying autoimmunity of the disease,” said Dannielle Appelhans, President and Chief Executive Officer of COUR. “In preclinical studies to date, CNP-106 has demonstrated a unique ability to induce tolerance to the acetylcholine receptor (AChR), leading to improved muscle function in an experimental model of autoimmune myasthenia gravis. These results indicate that CNP-106 has the potential to be a first-in-class treatment that offers people living with gMG a disease modifying therapy without burdensome immune system suppression.”
The Phase 1b/2a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial (NCT06106672) will enroll up to 54 patients with gMG, aged 18-75, to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacodynamics, and efficacy of multiple ascending doses of CNP-106.
About CNP-106
CNP-106 is a biodegradable nanoparticle that encapsulates acetylcholine receptor (AChR). gMG is primarily driven by the production of antibodies against AChR in the bloodstream. These antibodies either block or destroy the receptors for acetylcholine, which is a crucial neurotransmitter for muscle contraction. As gMG progresses, it may lead to serious health issues, such as myasthenic crisis, tumors of the thymus gland, thyroid imbalances, and other autoimmune diseases. CNP-106 is designed to potentially induce the downregulation of AChR T cell populations and AChR antibodies, leading to improved muscle function.
About COUR Pharmaceuticals:
COUR Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies to treat patients with autoimmune diseases. COUR’s first-in-class therapies are based on our proprietary antigen-specific immune tolerance platform and are designed to reprogram the immune system to address the underlying root cause of immune-mediated diseases. Data from multiple clinical and preclinical programs have demonstrated the ability of COUR’s product candidates to induce antigen-specific immune tolerance and have the potential to treat a wide range of autoimmune diseases.
COUR is currently enrolling patients in a phase 1b/2a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical study in Myasthenia Gravis and developing a product candidate in Type 1 Diabetes in addition to having completed first-in-human clinical studies in Celiac Disease (partnered with Takeda Pharmaceuticals), and Primary Biliary Cholangitis.
For more information, please visit www.courpharma.com