VBL Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to the development of novel treatments for immune-inflammatory diseases and cancer, today announced preclinical data demonstrating that VB-201 regulates inflammatory pathways, suggesting that it may effectively control inflammatory responses associated with autoimmune diseases and atherosclerosis. These results were presented today at the Keystone Symposium on Bioactive Lipids: Biochemistry and Diseases in Kyoto, Japan by Eyal Breitbart, Ph.D., vice president of research at VBL.
“These data contribute to the growing body of knowledge about VB-201 and we look forward to the results of our ongoing phase 2 clinical trial in patients with psoriasis.”
VB-201 is the first in a new class of drugs and the lead candidate of several proprietary phospholipid analogs from VBL's proprietary Lecinoxoid family that were designed to be orally available, anti-inflammatory medicines. Oxidized phospholipids are abundantly generated in sites of inflammation and recent studies suggest that they may also exert anti-inflammatory activities.
"Today's data demonstrating that VB-201 has anti-inflammatory activity suggest that it may have utility in the treatment of a range of autoimmune diseases, including atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease," said Dr. Breitbart.
This study evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity of VB-201 both in vivo and in vitro. In vivo, the efficacy of VB-201 was tested in ApoE knock-out mice (mice unable to produce apolipoprotein E, a key glycoprotein essential for the transport and metabolism of lipids). In this validated atherosclerosis model, VB-201 reduced the burden of atherosclerosis.