(August 21, 2018) – Forbius announced today a presentation of AVID200 preclinical data at the Annual IPF Summit. The poster is entitled “Development of AVID200, an Isoform-Selective TGF-β inhibitor, for the Treatment of Fibrosis” and describes the potent anti-fibrotic effects of AVID200 in models of lung fibrosis.
In two bleomycin-induced models of established fibrosis, in vivo inhibition of TGF-β by AVID200 reduced lung and skin fibrosis and ameliorated bleomycin-induced weight loss. AVID200 also reduced expression of fibrosis-associated extracellular matrix proteins in fibroblasts derived from patients with the fibrotic disease, scleroderma. These results demonstrate the potential of AVID200 to be an effective and well-tolerated treatment for IPF and other fibrotic diseases.
About AVID200
AVID200 is designed to be a highly potent and isoform-selective TGF-β inhibitor. AVID200 is unique because it selectively neutralizes TGF-β1 and -β3 with pM potency, while at the same time being minimally active against TGF-β2. Inhibiting the TGF-β1 and -β3 isoforms is advantageous since overexpression of these isoforms is closely associated with the progression of fibrosis and cancer. Conversely, blockade of TGF-β2 is undesirable because of the potential impact on normal cardiac function and dissemination of metastasis. AVID200 is therefore positioned to be an effective and well-tolerated therapeutic in a variety of clinical settings. AVID200 is undergoing development for the treatment of fibrotic diseases and immune oncology.
About Forbius (Formation Biologics)
Forbius is a clinical stage company that designs and develops biotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer and fibrotic diseases. Forbius’ medicines are designed to radically transform patients’ lives. We use our strength in biology and diverse protein engineering technologies to design superior inhibitors of validated pathways.
We have particularly deep expertise in targeting the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathways. For both of these pathways, there is a significant body of evidence validating their role as drivers of multiple life-threatening conditions, including cancer and fibrosis. However, in the case of the EGFR pathway, the majority of patients do not benefit from currently marketed EGFR inhibitors; in the case of the TGF-β pathway, no agent targeting this pathway has yet been approved. By using multiple complementary platform technologies, Forbius’ team overcame barriers that prevented the development of effective therapeutics targeting these pathways.