Benzinga | Jun 10, 2021 08:03AM EDT

Equillium Highlights Presentation Of Data On Target Engagement, Modulation Of CD6 On T Cells With Itolizumab At Int'l. Society For Advancement Of Cytometry

Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing itolizumab to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, today announced a poster presented yesterday at the CYTO Virtual Interactive Meeting, highlighting a novel assay to measure target engagement and modulation of CD6 as a pharmacodynamic marker for effect on T cells following treatment with itolizumab. This assay was designed and validated to be both sensitive and selective in the quantification of CD6 receptor engagement, occupancy and modulation to help determine an optimal therapeutic dose in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

"As we advance itolizumab in the clinic and further characterize its potency, having a validated, sensitive and selective assay to quantify the engagement, occupancy and modulation of CD6 helps to further optimize dosing for patients," said Stephen Connelly, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Equillium. "The data presented at CYTO showed that in whole blood samples of healthy volunteers treated in vitro with itolizumab, receptor occupancy in fresh whole blood as high as 96% on CD4 T cells was achieved, providing efficient CD6 coverage and inhibition, a key mechanism needed in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases where the immune system is overactive. We look forward to the additional data being generated for itolizumab in our ongoing clinical trials in patients with acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD), lupus and lupus nephritis and uncontrolled asthma."

Angelina R. Bisconte, Senior Director of Translational Biology & Biomarker Development, Precision for Medicine added, "Measuring cell-based receptor engagement has been challenging for patients on immune-modulatory therapies. In collaboration with Equillium, we have designed and validated a proprietary assay to be both sensitive and selective in the quantification of CD6 receptor occupancy and modulation to facilitate the determination of an optimal therapeutic dose in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases."