抗体医薬パイプライン GFC301

GeneFrontier’s Anti-ADAMTS4 Antibody for Arthrits (RA, OA)

  • Huge and growing market (5,000,000 patients under treatment in RA worldwide, 7,000,000 suffered in OA in Japan, 27,000,000 in US).
  • Existing biologics are working very well in RA, but there is still non-responder, and difficult to suppress cartilage destruction. No appropriate drug in OA.
  • ADAMTS4 is known as a main player in degradation of ECM, which leads to cartilage destruction. It’s the common mechanism in RA and OA.
  • Many inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1α etc.) activate the expression of ADAMTS4 in human. Difficult to suppress ADAMTS4 expression by inhibiting one of them.
  • It is known that ADAMTS5 is important in mouse, but ADAMTS4 is important in human. Need to consider the development strategy and complete suppression of aggrecanase activity.
  • GFC301 is the fully human antibody, derived from HuCAL, against ADAMTS4 inhibiting its aggrecanase activity.
  • GFC301 has the cross reactivity with ADAMTS4 and ADAMTS5, which realizes the seamless development from mouse to human and leads to complete suppression of aggrecanase activity.
  • GFC301 has good potential to be used with existing biologics for improving clinical score of existing biologics.
  • In vivo animal study is under planning.