Takeda acquires investigational coeliac disease therapy
pharmafile | October 23, 2019 | News story | Research and Development |
Takeda has acquired licensing for a first-in-class investigational coeliac disease therapy CNP-101/TAK-101. The Japanese pharma giant now has the rights to develop and commercialise the drug which is an immune modifying nanoparticle containing gliadin proteins.
The medication was acquired from COUR, and is based on the company’s antigen specific immune tolerance platform. Takeda stated the decision was borne from results from a phase IIa trial in which h the primary endpoint, a change from baseline in interferon gamma spot forming units at day six, was met.
Asit Parikh, Head of Gastroenterology at Takeda, said: “While man people living with coeliac disease can manage their symptoms by following a gluten free diet, there are currently no treatment options for those who continue to have symptoms.
“Our collaboration with COUR has shown, for the first time, that it is possible to induce specific immune tolerance to a foreign antigen in autoimmune diseases such as celiac disease. With our expertise in inflammatory diseases, Takeda is well positioned to further develop TAK-101 in pursuit of providing the first approved treatment option for patients with celiac disease.”
In the trial treatments were administered intravenously on day 1 and day 8. The gluten challenge began seven days after the second administration and included 12 grams of gluten per day for three days followed by 6 grams of gluten per day for 11 days.
The study also presented a trend in projection from small intestinal mucosal damage, with a deterioration of 0.18 with TAK-101 compared with 0.63 for placebo.
John Puisis, Chief Executive Officer at COUR Pharmaceuticals commented that it was “encouraged by the data from this first human proof of concept study of our proprietary nanoparticle platform designed to reprogram the immune system
He continued, “As Takeda assumes responsibility for the coeliac disease program, COUR will focus on advancing our pipeline of therapies for a variety of other immune disorders ranging from multiple sclerosis to peanut allergy.”
Coeliac disease is a serious autoimmune disease where the ingestion of gluten leads to inflammation and damage in the small intestine. It can cause symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea, and vomiting, and long-term complications of coeliac disease may include malnutrition, accelerated osteoporosis, nervous system problems and problems related to reproduction.
Nik Kiran
