Benzinga | Sep 20, 2021 07:16AM EDT

Landos Biopharma To Collaborate On A Phase 2 Study Of Omilancor In Crohn's Disease With The Icahn School Of Medicine At Mount Sinai

Second Phase 2 trial of omilancor in Crohn's disease (CD), expected to initiate in 2021

Awarded a $3 million NIH R01 grant from the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to fund this study

Landos Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LABP), a late-clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company utilizing its LANCE(r) Advanced A.I. platform to develop novel oral small-molecule therapeutics for patients with autoimmune diseases, today announced a research collaboration with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to conduct a Phase 2 trial of omilancor, Landos' novel, orally administered, gut-restricted LANCL2 agonist, in patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease (CD).

"Entering this partnership with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai highlights our ability to pursue innovative clinical and translational studies that build on our pioneering immunometabolism franchise in autoimmune diseases," said Dr. Josep Bassaganya-Riera, Chairman, President, and CEO of Landos. "We are excited to expand the investigation of our Phase-3 ready product candidate, omilancor, in this mechanistic Phase 2 study in CD to further validate how activation of the LANCL2 pathway by omilancor enhances regulatory T cell (Treg) function in the gastrointestinal tract. Rescuing Treg function in biologic failure patients is a critical step for inducing durable remission given the impaired regulatory compartment in this hard to treat patient population. We thank the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) for recognizing the promise of omilancor as a potential oral treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the value of its novel LANCL2 mechanism of action with this competitive grant that provides further independent validation and de-risking for omilancor and our broader inflammation and immunology pipeline."

This Phase 2 trial is a randomized, double-blind study designed to evaluate the efficacy, safety and mechanisms of omilancor in patients with moderate-to-severe CD. Approximately 40 patients will be randomized to receive either 880 mg of omilancor or adalimumab (Humira), the standard of care, once daily for 12 weeks. Over the course of the induction period, patients will be monitored at baseline, 2, 6 and 12 weeks for an assessment of symptoms, disease-associated biomarkers and patient-reported outcomes. Intestinal biopsy specimens, stool and peripheral blood will be comprehensively analyzed at the Laboratory of Mucosal Immunology at Mount Sinai Hospital. This trial is funded by a $3 million grant awarded to Landos by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the NIH.

"Patients with CD need safer and more effective oral therapeutic options, especially those who have previously failed on biologics," said Jean-Frederic Colombel, MD, Director, Susan and Leonard Feinstein IBD Clinical Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Dr. Colombel is also a member of the Landos Clinical Advisory Board and a paid consultant. "By looking at the underlying cellular and molecular multi-pronged mechanisms of omilancor in CD patients that failed biologics, we can better understand how it provides clinical benefit. Based on the promise of previous studies, I am excited by its potential to fill a clear treatment gap for patients with moderate-to-severe CD."

"We are excited to launch immunometabolism studies in IBD as part of this mechanistic Phase 2 study," said Saurabh Mehandru, MD, Associate Professor and Principal Investigator of the Laboratory of Mucosal Immunology at Mount Sinai Hospital where the mechanistic studies will be performed. "Immunometabolism is a relatively novel frontier in IBD pioneered by the Landos team. Through these studies, we aim to learn more about the metabolic underpinnings of cellular immune responses in IBD and their targeting with omilancor and LANCL2 engagement. Further, by studying patients longitudinally, we may be able to determine early predictors of therapeutic response to omilancor which could pave the way to better patient stratification in future. Therefore, I am very excited at the prospect of this well-designed, mechanism-focused study in patients with CD."

Prescription therapeutics used to treat CD in the United States generated approximately $10.7 billion in sales in 2020 and are anticipated to grow at over 4.1% per annum over the coming years. Humira comprises nearly 33% of the market, with an estimated sales forecast of $2.3 billion by patient growth.