Angion Biomedica Corp. (NASDAQ:ANGN), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel small molecule therapeutics to address fibrotic diseases, today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) acceptance of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application supporting the clinical development of ANG-3070 in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and clearance to begin a Phase 1b study of ANG-3070 in patients with IPF.
ANG-3070 is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha and beta (PDGFRα and PDGFRβ, respectively) and Discoidin Domain Receptors 1 and 2 (DDR1 and DDR2), tyrosine kinase receptors linked to the development of fibrosis in the kidneys and lungs.
The Phase 1b study is intended to start enrollment and report data in 2022. IPF patients eligible for this Phase 1b study of ANG-3070 include those who have discontinued nintedanib or pirfenidone, refused treatment with nintedanib or pirfenidone, or those who are treatment naïve. Approximately 20 IPF patients will be enrolled into a crossover design trial with four arms dosing for ten days each. One arm is ANG-3070 300mg twice per day, the second arm is 500mg once per day, plus placebo-to-match arms. Patients will be enrolled in two ten-day treatment periods with either ANG-3070 or placebo with a 5 day of washout period between treatments. The primary endpoint of the study is the frequency of treatment-emergent adverse events. Secondary endpoints include standard pharmacokinetic analyses.
“The acceptance of this IND for ANG-3070 in patients with IPF is an important milestone for Angion,” stated Dr. John Neylan, Angion’s Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. “The results from this study will assist us in designing and enrolling a Phase 2 trial in IPF, which we expect to initiate in 2023. IPF is a serious and ultimately fatal fibrotic disease where additional treatment options are needed.”
Additionally, Angion has completed multiple preclinical studies demonstrating ANG-3070’s activity in IPF models. These studies include:
- An in vitro study exploring ANG-3070’s ability to inhibit proliferation of normal human lung fibroblasts, key components of the fibrotic pathway in IPF. ANG-3070 successfully inhibited fibroblast proliferation in the presence of PDGF, an important confirmation of ANG-3070’s ability to inhibit a known component of IPF pathophysiology.
- An in vitro study of ANG-3070’s ability to affect PDGF-mediated collagen secretion by normal human lung fibroblasts. Collagen secretion is part of the final pathway contributing to the pathology of fibrotic lung tissue in IPF and other progressive fibrotic diseases. ANG-3070 abrogated collagen secretion in this model, demonstrating activity against this pathway of progressive IPF.
- An in vitro study exposing ANG-3070 to normal human fibroblasts and human small airway epithelial cells, the latter cells being critical to healthy lung function. The ability of ANG-3070 to effectively inhibit fibroblast activation and collagen secretion while sparing small airway epithelial cells in this model suggests potentially increased clinical benefit via protection of the small airway epithelial cells and the alveolar epithelium from further damage.
“These in vitro studies provide further demonstration of ANG-3070’s potential for clinical activity in IPF,” continued Dr. Neylan. “These data complement the significant body of existing in vivo studies showing activity of ANG-3070 in both kidney and lung fibrosis, enabling us to advance a robust clinical development program for ANG-3070 in both primary proteinuric kidney diseases in our Phase 2 JUNIPER trial as well as in IPF.”
IPF is an aggressive form of fibrotic lung disease with a median survival for patients between two and three years. Approximately 140,000 patients in the U.S. have been diagnosed with IPF. While both nintedanib and pirfenidone are approved in the U.S. for IPF, approximately half of IPF patients discontinue their prescriptions within one year and fewer than one-third of IPF patients are currently prescribed either drug. Nevertheless, worldwide sales for nintedanib and pirfenidone are projected to be over $3.8 billion in 2021.