Apollo Therapeutics’ $15 million bet on Avalo’s anti-IL-18 monoclonal antibody appears to have paid off after the candidate aced a phase 2 trial in atopic dermatitis (AD).
The phase 2a study involved 62 patients with moderate to severe AD in the U.S. and Canada receiving either camoteskimab intravenously or placebo. In the trial, treatment with camoteskimab yielded a statistically significant reduction in patients' eczema area and severity scores compared to placebo at 16 weeks, hitting the primary endpoint, Apollo said in a Sept. 16 release.
An open-label phase of the study saw responses “continue to deepen,” Apollo added, reaching an average 80% reduction in patients’ eczema scores, with around 65% of patients seeing their eczema score reduced by 75% or more from baseline.
The British biotech also drew attention to results in patients who had not benefited from Th2-specific anti-IL-13/anti-IL-4 biologics, the best known of which is Sanofi and Regeneron’s immunology blockbuster Dupixent. All patients in the trial who had unsuccessfully tried this drug class went on to have a “clinically meaningful” response to camoteskimab, Apollo said.
“This is consistent with the role that IL-18 has in epithelial barrier function, across multiple inflammatory pathways including Th1, Th2, Th17, and Th22,” Apollo noted.
In the release, Apollo CEO Richard Mason said camoteskimab “demonstrated differentiation across efficacy, safety, and dosing frequency.”
“Additionally, it has shown its class-leading potential with its differentiated ability to degrade IL-18,” Mason added. “The efficacy of camoteskimab in patients who have previously failed anti-IL-13/anti-IL-4 biologics is also highly encouraging and highlights the importance of developing novel mechanisms of action beyond Th2-specific therapeutics for patients with atopic dermatitis.”
This morning’s readout appears to validate Apollo's decision to hand over $15 million in upfront cash to Avalo Therapeutics back in 2022 to secure rights to camoteskimab. The U.K.- and U.S.-based portfolio company has taken a hub-and-spoke approach to drug development that now stretches to over 20 programs.
When Apollo bought camoteskimab, the asset was undergoing a phase 1b trial in adult-onset Still's disease, a rare type of inflammatory arthritis that causes fevers, rash and joint pain. But the biotech has seen potential in the increasingly crowded AD space.