IcanoMAB, a privately-funded biotech company focusing on the pre-clinical and clinical development of novel precision antibodies for the treatment of cancer, immune-system related diseases and COVID-19, today announced that it has received positive regulatory advice for the clinical development path of its anti-IL-1R7 antibody in late-stage COVID-19. In addition, IcanoMAB has published the pre-clinical proof-of-concept for the anti-IL-1R7 antibody that blocks the signal transduction of the interleukin-18 (IL-18) receptor.

Recently, IcanoMAB achieved positive regulatory advice for its clinical development plan in late-stage COVID-19. IcanoMAB’s scientific approach, pre-clinical evidence and development plan were supported as presented.

Systemic inflammation can result in severe pathologies with high mortality. The Cytokine-Release-Syndrome has been observed in late-stage COVID-19 patients and other diseases exhibiting systemic hyper-inflammation. Elevated IL-18, a proinflammatory cytokine belonging to the IL-1 family, initiating the avalanche of effects in the Cytokine-Release-Syndrome, is known to correlate with the severity of late-stage COVID-19. IcanoMAB’s novel humanized monoclonal anti-IL-1R7 (=IL-18 receptor beta chain) antibody specifically blocks the signal transduction of pro-inflammatory IL-18 and has been developed in closed collaboration with Charles Dinarello. Pre-clinical Proof-of-Concept was provided and recently published by scientific partners at the Dinarello Lab, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, Colorado/USA and Department of Medicine, the Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen/The Netherlands and the Department of Infectious Disease and Institute of Clinical Medicine Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus/Denmark.

Additional therapeutic indications will include diseases related to the Cytokine-Release-Syndrome, e.g., Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and Macrophage Activation Syndrome (MAS) or other acute inflammatory diseases, e.g., IBD, Gout and Asthma.

IcanoMAB is currently entering discussions with interested parties for a development partnership of it’s anti IL-1R7 antagonist antibody.