Benzinga | Feb 18, 2021 08:02AM EST

Hoth Therapeutics reports Its HT-003 Showed Anti-Inflammatory Benefits, Co. Will Expand Drug Development To Include Treatment Of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Hoth Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOTH), a biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it intends to expand the development of the HT-003 active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) to pursue a new indication for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Hoth executed an option agreement with Isoprene Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Isoprene") to investigate the potential for the HT-003 API as an IBD therapeutic. Isoprene is a University of Maryland, Baltimore New Venture Initiative start-up company.



IBDs represent a large health burden in the United States, affecting approximately 3 million adults age 18 years and older that continues to increase each year.1 IBDs are characterized by an inflammation-mediated disease pathology as a result of an excessive mucosal adaptive and innate immune response within the gastrointestinal tract. Recent data in published literature suggests that aberrant retinoic acid regulation may contribute to the underlying inflammatory mechanism that causes IBD symptoms, and restoring retinoic acid homeostasis may provide a potential therapeutic benefit.2 The API of HT-003 has demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties and targets the retinoic acid metabolism pathway.

Hoth plans to investigate the therapeutic potential of the HT-003 API using relevant ex vivo tissue models and other in vitro molecular studies. This work will complement Hoth's current research activities investigating the therapeutic potential of HT-003 for the treatment of acne and psoriasis as a comprehensive therapeutic drug platform.

"The in vitro results generated for HT-003 show promising anti-inflammatory properties that have the potential to translate to other inflammation-driven diseases, such as IBDs," stated Dr. Stefanie Johns, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Hoth Therapeutics. "The chronic, severe symptoms associated IBDs in combination with the high frequency of treatment failures that still exist in this population represent a substantial burden on patient quality life. Hoth is excited to explore the potential of the HT-003 API as a IBD therapeutic as part of our mission to develop drugs for unmet medical needs."