Akari Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKTX) reported positive results from the first three bullous pemphigoid (BP) patients in an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial.
BP is a severe orphan inflammatory skin disease characterized by chronic blistering of the skin. It is currently treated with steroids and immunosuppressants, but relapses frequently occur.
Akari’s Nomacopan inhibits both C5 complement factor and leukotriene B4 (LTB4), both of which are implicated in BP. In the first three of the trial’s nine expected patients, Nomacopan reduced the BP disease area index (BPDAI) – the study’s main efficacy measure – by a mean of 31%, 45% and 52% on the seventh, 21st and 42nd treatment day, respectively.
“We are impressed by the rapidity of the improvement in patients’ BPDAI and blister score which is predictive of overall response,” the study’s lead investigators, Profs. Detlef Zillikens and Christian Sadick of the University of Lubeck’s Department of Dermatology, said in a statement.
“This initial data supports the idea that the combination of C5 and LTB4 provides a potential new treatment option for patients suffering from this debilitating disease,” they added.
Based on this positive initial data, Akari plans to expand the trial to include additional severe BP patients.
