NEW YORK and CLEVELAND, April 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (ABEO), a leading clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel gene therapies for life-threatening rare genetic diseases, today announced that updated Phase 1/2 clinical trial data on the EB-101 gene therapy program and supportive natural history data for patients with Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB) will be highlighted at the upcoming Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID) conference to be held April 26-29, 2017 in Portland, OR.
“Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa, also known as butterfly skin syndrome, is a painful and ultimately disfiguring disease that results in early deaths. The EB-101 clinical data update highlights the wound closure and collagen biomarker expression continues for over two years in multiple patients, which are critically important parameters of efficacy in patients with RDEB,” said Timothy J. Miller, Ph.D., President and CEO.
EB-101 was administered to non-healing chronic wounds [mean length of time wounds were unhealed (unclosed) was 8.5 years] on each subject and assessed for wound healing at predefined time points over years. The primary endpoint of the clinical trial is to assess safety and evaluate wound closure compared to untreated wounds. Secondary endpoints include expression of full-length C7 and restoration of anchoring fibrils at three and six months post-administration.
Significant wound healing, defined as >75% closure from baseline, was observed in 94% (27/36 grafts) at 3 months, 67% (16/24 grafts) at 6 months and 50% (12/24 grafts) at 12 months post-administration. In addition, C7 collagen expression and morphologically normal NC2 reactive anchoring fibrils – the “zipper” that holds skin onto the underlying tissue and the primary deficit in RDEB patients - have been observed in tissue biopsies in the 4 subjects that are through two years of follow-up. By comparison, all untreated control wounds remained unhealed (0% wound closure) over the same time frame. Importantly, all subjects (n=35) in the supportive natural history study failed to close wounds (0% wound healing) using a comparison product of non-gene corrected keratinocyte graft (Apligraf®) treatment by 7 weeks post-application. This is a significant finding of the natural history study, as there are no approved therapies for RDEB patients that demonstrate significant wound closure after two months post-application.
Details for the oral presentations and poster sessions are listed below:
Presentation Title: “Phase I/IIa Clinical Trial for Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Using Genetically Corrected Autologous Keratinocytes”
Presenter: Zurab Siprashvili, Ph.D.
Abstract Final ID: 519
Oral Presentation, Friday, April 28th, 2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. PT
Room: Oregon Ballroom 204
Abstract Title: “Quality of Life in Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa: The AltaVoice Patient Registry, 2012-2015”
Presenter: Sara Choi
Abstract Final ID: 224
Poster Session I: Thursday, April 27th, 2017, 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. PT
Room: Exhibit Hall A
Abstract Title: “Natural History of Chronic Wounds in Patients with Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa”
Presenter: Daniel C. Solis, BA
Abstract Final ID: 219
Poster Session II: Friday, April 28th, 2017, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. PT
Room: Exhibit Hall A
Abstract Title: Phase I/IIa Clinical Trial for Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Using Genetically Corrected
Autologous Keratinocytes”
Presenter: Zurab Siprashvili, Ph.D.
Abstract Final ID: 519
Poster Session III: Saturday, April 29th, 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. PT
Room: Exhibit Hall A
About EB-101: Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB) is a subtype of an inherited genetic skin disorder characterized by chronic skin blistering, open and painful wounds, joint contractures, esophageal strictures, pseudosyndactyly, corneal abrasions and a shortened life span. Patients with RDEB lack functional type VII collagen owing to mutations in the gene COL7A1 that encodes for C7 and is the main component of anchoring fibrils, which stabilize the dermal-epidermal basement membrane. EB-101 is an autologous, ex-vivo gene therapy in which COL7A1 is transduced into autologous keratinocytes for the treatment of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB). EB-101 has been well tolerated to date and demonstrated promising efficacy in the Phase 2 portion of the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial in RDEB patients (NCT01263379).
