Xoma Expands Development Strategy For XOMA 052

Xoma has expanded its development strategy for its XOMA 052 antibody to interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) to include effects on cholesterol lowering, reducing plaque deposits and damage to heart muscle and resulting long-term effects that can lead to heart attack, stroke and congestive heart failure.

The company said that the strategy is supported by results from XOMA 052 Phase 1 trials demonstrating improvement in biomarkers associated with cardiovascular risk, ongoing clinical trials in cardiovascular disease with other IL-1 targeted agents. The animal studies with XOMA 052 have demonstrated significant reductions in plaque formation and improvements in lipid levels, and positive results with another IL-1 targeted agent in an animal model of cardiac remodeling after heart attack.

In XOMA’s Phase 1 XOMA 052 trials, patients with type 2 diabetes had improvements in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), biomarkers of systemic inflammation associated with cardiovascular risk as well improvement in diabetic parameters.

Two ongoing clinical trials of anakinra, another agent targeting IL-1, in acute coronary syndromes provide further support for a new anti-inflammatory approach to cardiovascular disease. Recently reported preclinical animal results have demonstrated that XOMA 052 treatment resulted in reduction in the formation of atherosclerotic plaque.

Reportedly, other preclinical animal results with XOMA 052 have shown reductions in total cholesterol without reduction in high density lipoprotein, and reduction in triglycerides and free fatty acids. Recently published results demonstrated that treatment with anakinra in a mouse model of heart attack resulted in amelioration of the adverse cardiac remodeling, and a statistically significant improvement in survival compared to control animals.

Patrick Scannon, executive vice president and chief medical officer of Xoma, said: “XOMA 052 results demonstrating improved cardiovascular biomarkers in our Phase 1 trials and significant improvements in plaque formation and dyslipidemia in established mouse models, together with the growing recognition of systemic inflammation as a cardiovascular risk factor as recently demonstrated in the JUPITER study, support an expanded strategy for the development of XOMA 052 in cardiovascular diseases.”