RCS - IP Group PLC - Istesso starts Phase 2b trial of MBS2320

IPAnnouncement

31/08/2022 09:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20220831:nRSe7398Xa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 7398X  IP Group PLC  31 August 2022

 FOR RELEASE ON  31 August 2022

 

IP Group plc - Portfolio company Istesso announces initiation of Phase 2b
trial of lead drug MBS2320

 

MBS2320 administered to participants with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid
arthritis

 

IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ("IP Group" or "the Group"), which develops
world-changing science and technology businesses across life sciences,
technology and cleantech, notes that portfolio company Istesso Ltd ("Istesso"
or "the Company"), the immunometabolism drug discovery and development
company, has announced the initiation of its Phase 2b trial of MBS2320, its
lead drug in rheumatoid arthritis, with the first patients now dosed.

MBS2320 is a first-in-class investigational drug which reduces inflammation
and supports the remodelling of damaged tissue. This dual mode-of-action
enables MBS2320 to offer the unique potential to reverse underlying pathology
in bone and joints. Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic, progressive, and
disabling auto-immune disease affecting one per cent of the global population,
165 million people worldwide.

 

The trial is a phase 2b randomized, multi-centre, double-blind parallel group,
placebo-controlled trial investigating the efficacy and safety of multiple
doses of the metabolic reprogramming agent MBS2320. The study will enrol
patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis who have had an inadequate response to
methotrexate. The primary endpoint is the proportion of subjects achieving
American College of Rheumatology 20% (ACR20). The study will consist of a
twelve-week treatment period and will enrol subjects in multiple countries in
Europe and Latin America. Istesso expects results from the study in 2024.

 

Sam Williams, Managing Partner, IP Group Life Sciences, and Istesso Chairman,
said: "This marks an important milestone for both Istesso and IP Group. IP
Group has been the majority shareholder in Istesso for more than a decade and
this news validates the Group's long-term approach to supporting portfolio
companies, technologies and products that have the potential to change
people's lives for the better. IP Group fully supports Istesso's ambition to
bring MBS2320 to a range of patients who are inadequately served by current
treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and we look forward to the data from this
study in a couple of years' time."

 

IP Group has an undiluted holding of 56% in Istesso.

 

For more information, please contact:

 

 IP Group plc                                             www.ipgroupplc.com (http://www.ipgroupplc.com)
 Liz Vaughan-Adams, Communications                        +44 (0) 20 7444 0062/+44 (0) 7967 312125
 Charlotte Street Partners
 David Gaffney                                            +44 (0) 7854 609998
 Andrew Wilson                                            +44 (0) 7810 636995

 

Notes for editors

 

About IP Group

 

IP Group develops world-changing science and technology businesses across
life sciences, technology and cleantech (through Kiko Ventures). The Group has
a strong track record of success, having been the founder investor in a number
of high-profile companies including Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc, and has
one of the most exciting portfolios of high-growth businesses in Europe. The
Group also owns Parkwalk, the UK's largest growth EIS fund manager which backs
world-changing technologies emerging from the UK's leading universities and
research institutions. IP Group is listed on the Main Market of the London
Stock Exchange under the code IPO.

 

For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com
(http://www.ipgroupplc.com/) .

 

About Istesso

 

Istesso is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, developing novel drug
candidates which reprogramme immune cell metabolism to treat autoimmune and
inflammatory conditions. Istesso's products have applications in conditions
such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis and Cancer.

 

About MBS2320

 

MBS2320 is an investigational, first-in-class metabolic reprogramming agent.
Its unique dual mode of action, reducing inflammation and supporting the
remodelling of tissue damage gives MBS2320 the potential to both control the
disease symptoms and resolve the underlying pathology across multiple disease
indications including RA and other autoimmune diseases.

 

About rheumatoid arthritis

 

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, progressive, and disabling auto-immune
disease affecting one per cent of the global population, or ~165 million
people worldwide. Unchecked, RA can progress very rapidly, causing swelling
and damaging cartilage and bone around the joints and cause severe disability.
A number of treatments are available for the conditions, but these are
associated with increased infection rates, and for some classes, a risk of
major cardiovascular events. In addition, a large proportion of patients fail
to respond, or experience ongoing symptoms such as pain and flare, and
continue to suffer from bone erosions.

 

 

 

This information is provided by Reach, the non-regulatory press release distribution service of RNS, part of the London Stock Exchange. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

Reach is a non-regulatory news service. By using this service an issuer is confirming that the information contained within this announcement is of a non-regulatory nature. Reach announcements are identified with an orange label and the word “Reach” in the source column of the News Explorer pages of London Stock Exchange’s website so that they are distinguished from the RNS UK regulatory service. Other vendors subscribing for Reach press releases may use a different method to distinguish Reach announcements from UK regulatory news.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  NRABKDBQOBKKCFN