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Phase IIa data confirms that Abivax’s potential HIV cure not only reduces viral reservoir but it also has anti-inflammatory effects.
Abivax targets the immune system to fight viral infections, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as well as autoimmune diseases. The company has now confirmed the preliminary results from its first cohort of patients in a recent Phase IIa trial. Abivax’s HIV drug, ABX464, significantly reduced patients’ HIV reservoirs over a 28-day period. In addition, the drug had anti-inflammatory effects on rectal tissue, which supports its use for the treatment of inflammatory diseases like ulcerative colitis. This news has caused Abivax’s stock price to rocket by more than 30% this morning as confidence grows in the company’s technology.
A limitation of this first cohort of patients has been a lack of data due to “rectal biopsies did not yield enough HIV DNA to make an assessment of the viral reservoir,” as CMO Jean-Marc Steens explained. The company has made changes to make sure that “enough high-quality viral DNA is available” in the second cohort of 12 patients. Over 3 months, Abivax will investigate a 50mg daily dose of ABX464, as opposed to the 150mg dose used in the first cohort. Any changes in HIV reservoir and inflammation levels during the study will be followed by the regular and pre-specified sampling of blood and rectal tissue.
Image – Maksim Kryuchkov / shutterstock.com