ASIT biotech reveals the mode of action of its lead immunotherapy product for Allergic Rhinitis, gp-ASIT+™, in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI)

• Data show how gp-ASIT+™, administered in a pre-seasonal 3-week treatment, is able to rapidly modulate pro-allergic cellular response and induce production of blocking antibodies. This effect led to a significant reduction in the combined clinical symptom and medication score during the following pollen season.
• JACI is the most cited peer-reviewed journal in the field of allergy and clinical immunology. This fifth publication in a prestigious scientific peer-reviewed journal confirms the strength of the gp-ASIT+™ data collected during the initial phase III trial.
• Understanding the underpinning mode of action of gp-ASIT+™ validates the ASIT+™ platform and its potential to generate new product candidates against other allergies.

Brussels, Belgium, March 5, 2019, 5.45 pm (CET) – ASIT biotech (Euronext: ASIT - BE0974289218), a Belgian biopharmaceutical company specialized in the research and development of innovative allergy immunotherapy products, today announced the publication of a mechanistic (mode of action) study of gp-ASIT+™, its lead product candidate for grass pollen allergy, in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI), the most cited peer-reviewed journal in the field of allergy and clinical immunology.

The recently published data were obtained in the framework of the first Phase III clinical study (2016-2017) in collaboration with Imperial College London. As planned before the start of the clinical study, the subset of 32 patients (21 treated and 11 placebo) recruited at the University Hospital Ghent (Belgium) gave blood samples for the study of the mechanism of action of gp-ASIT+™.

The data demonstrate that a short-course treatment (3 weeks) with gp-ASIT+™ is associated with the activation of regulatory immune mechanisms that protect patients against grass pollen allergy. This immunologic effect persisted until the end of the pollen season. It is noteworthy that gp-ASIT+™ induced a reduction of the combined clinical symptom and medication score (CSMS) of -35.1% (p=0.03) during the peak season and -53.7% (p=0.03) during the entire pollen season in patients that went through immunologic analyses. These results obtained without the use of adjuvants demonstrate the potency of a treatment with ASIT+™ peptides. This data further supports that gp-ASIT+™ could become an efficient and safe treatment for patients suffering from grass pollen allergy.

Prof. Mohamed Shamji, Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London, said: “I am delighted that our study was able to highlight multiple mechanisms induced by gp-ASIT+™, resulting in the resetting of the immune response, lower inflammation processes and the prevention of allergic reactions. Some of these mechanisms could also be beneficial for asthmatic patients but further trials will be necessary to confirm their clinical relevance.”

Michel Baijot, CEO of ASIT biotech, concluded: “This new article in a renowned peer-reviewed scientific journal confirms the quality of the data obtained with gp-ASIT+™ across its clinical development. Furthermore, the understanding of its unique mechanism of action supports the potential of the ASIT+™ platform to select, faster, cheaper and with reduced risks, new product candidates for other allergies. These could attract new partners.”

References:
Article in JACI (click here)

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About ASIT biotech

ASIT biotech is a Belgian clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and future commercialization of a range of breakthrough immunotherapy products for the treatment of allergies. Thanks to its innovative ASIT+™ technology platform, ASIT biotech is currently the only developer of allergy immunotherapy (AIT) product candidates consisting of a unique mixture of highly purified natural allergen fragments in an optimal size selection. This innovation results in a short treatment, expected to improve patient compliance and real-life effectiveness. ASIT biotech’s product pipeline contains three novel ASIT+™ product candidates targeting respiratory allergies with the highest prevalence (i.e. grass pollen: gp-ASIT+™ - in ongoing phase III - and house dust mite: hdm-ASIT+™), and food allergies (peanut allergy: pnt-ASIT+™) that could significantly expand the current immunotherapy market. The Company believes that its innovative ASIT+™ platform is flexible and would be applicable across a range of allergies.

ASIT biotech has a headcount of 26 staff members, at its headquarters in Brussels and its facilities in Liège, Belgium.