Antegrin Therapeutics Announces Publication Of Preclinical Data In Pancreatic Fibrosis

Paper Further Validates Company’s Innovative Approach

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Antegrin Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company developing novel therapies to treat fibrotic diseases, today announced the publication of key preclinical data in the current online edition of Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The paper highlights the important role played by av integrins in a preclinical model of chronic pancreatitis and reports efficacy in that model resulting from therapeutic treatment with a representative compound in Antegrin’s portfolio of broad-spectrum integrin antagonists.

“We congratulate the team of scientists at Saint Louis University for their elegant experimental work.”

Previous work had suggested that several members of the integrin family of cell-surface receptors are capable of activating TGFß, a cytokine believed to drive the fibrotic process in many organs, and that these integrins play a critical role in fibrotic pathologies. The current study explored the effect of simultaneous antagonism of these integrins in the setting of experimental, cerulein-induced pancreatic fibrosis.

The results demonstrated increased expression of target integrins at sites of fibrosis in pancreatic tissue and substantial reduction in scar tissue formation following administration of CWHM-12, an Antegrin compound that inhibits those integrins. These findings build upon previous preclinical evidence of CWHM-12’s anti-fibrotic activity in other organs (published in Nature Medicine in 2013) and reinforce the scientific rationale for Antegrin’s innovative approach.

“The recently published studies provide powerful new evidence in support of the hypothesis that drives Antegrin’s program,” said George Capps, CEO of Antegrin. “We congratulate the team of scientists at Saint Louis University for their elegant experimental work.”

“Unmet need in the fibrosis space remains critically high,” noted Michael Yeadon, Ph.D., a member of Antegrin’s board of directors. “Here at Antegrin, we continue our efforts to translate the basic science supporting the therapeutic potential of integrin antagonism into meaningful products for patients suffering from debilitating fibrotic conditions.”

The paper, which was co-authored by Barbara Ulmasov, Ph.D., associate research professor of gastroenterology at Saint Louis University, Antegrin founders Peter Ruminski, M.S., and David Griggs, Ph.D., and others, is currently available online as an article in press and is expected to appear in final form in the July edition of the journal.

About Antegrin

Antegrin Therapeutics, Inc., is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing novel treatments for fibrotic diseases. The company aims to select its first clinical development candidate in 2016 and has received funding from BioGenerator, the Missouri Technology Corporation, the iSelect Fund, and other investors. For more information, please visit www.antegrin.com.

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