The studies used rodent models of chronic Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, `both also referred inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The kappaB Decoy was shown to be efficiently delivered to inflamed areas of the gut, significantly reduced inflammatory cell infiltrates and expression of proinflammatory genes, and reversed disease associated weight loss and tissue damage in multiple chronic and acute preclinical models of IBD.
The data further corroborates previous preclinical findings which showed NF-kappaB Decoy’s ability to dramatically decrease inflammation and swelling in preclinical models of atopic dermatitis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease also known as eczema.
Corgentech is currently conducting a multi-center, phase II clinical trial of NF-kappaB Decoy for eczema in the US involving approximately 75 patients. A second trial of approximately 120 patients is also due to begin enrolment imminently and will be conducted in Australia and Switzerland. The company has not yet forecasted its plans relating to a clinical trial for IBD.
NF-kappaB Decoy is a selective and potent inhibitor of the transcription factor NF-kappaB, which is implicated in inflammatory diseases such as eczema, asthma and IBD.