Nantes, France, 21 May 2012 - Effimune, a biotech company, published in the April and
May issues of the international medical magazine “American Journal of Transplantation” two
articles on its lead drug candidate FR104, referring to its mechanism of action, its
immunological safety and its efficacy to act as an immunomodulator to control human
immune responses with a higher efficacy than standard of care.
“We are very pleased with the publications of these two articles in such a prestigious
international medical magazine. They definitively mark an important step before the launch of
the phase I clinical trial of our lead drug candidate in the coming months” underlined
Maryvonne Hiance, Chairman of Effimune.
Effimune’s data demonstrated that due to its unique monovalent structure, FR104 is the first
drug candidate able to antagonize CD28-mediated activation signals in T lymphocytes and to
promote CTLA-4-mediated regulation signals, resulting in a very powerful and long-lasting
control of pathological immune responses. This communication will be completed by seven
presentations at the forthcoming American Transplant Congress (Boston, MA, June 2-6,
2012) and International Transplantation Congress (Berlin, July 15-19, 2012) on FR104 mode
of action and on its successful preclinical assessment in kidney transplantation. The data
presented are the first demonstrating potency of FR104 to prevent kidney transplant rejection
in synergy with a non-toxic pharmacological immunosuppression regimen. FR104 opens a
new avenue in the treatment of autoimmune diseases and of transplanted patients, by
promoting immune tolerance.
About Effimune (formerly TcL Pharma)
Located in Nantes (France), Effimune is a biotech company dedicated to the discovery and
development of drugs which regulate the immune system in autoimmune disease and transplantation.
As a member of the Atlanpole Biotherapies cluster, the company was spun out of the Institute for
Transplantation Urology, Nephrology (ITUN, Europe’s leading centre for kidney and combined
kidney/pancreas transplantation) in December 2007.
The first monoclonal antibodies developed by Effimune (FR104, MD707 and MP196) are based on
novel approaches to immune system regulation. Effimune is focusing its efforts on drug development
in the field of autoimmune disorders and transplantation. The company's expertise encompasses all the
steps in drug development, including target characterization, drug discovery, proof-of-concept, pilot
manufacturing, regulatory preclinical development and first-in-man Phase I and II clinical trials.
Effimune is developing the CD28 antagonist FR104, the first ever biologic drug with selective
immunosuppressive activity. The company's expertise has made it possible to select and engineer a
monovalent anti-CD28 antibody (to make it purely antagonist and to tune its pharmacokinetic profile)
and develop its production.
For more information, visit www.effimune.com
For more information:
Effimune
Maryvonne Hiance,
Présidente
Tél : +33 (0) 240 412 834
Mobile : 33 (0) 680 060 183
mhiance@effimune.com
www.effimune.com
ALIZE RP
Caroline Carmagnol
Tél: 33 1 42 68 86 43
Mobile : 33 6 64 18 99 59
Caroline@alizerp.com