Immutep Receives Regulatory Clearance For Phase I Study Of First-In-Class LAG-3 Agonist Antibody Designed To Treat Autoimmune Diseases
- Study expected to enrol first participants during Q3 CY2024
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, July 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Immutep Limited ((ASX: IMM, NASDAQ:IMMP) ("Immutep" or "the Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel LAG-3 immunotherapies for cancer and autoimmune disease, today announces it has received regulatory clearance from the ethics and competent authority in the Netherlands to initiate the first-in-human Phase I study of IMP761.
IMP761 is the world's first therapeutic LAG-3 agonist antibody and as such is uniquely positioned in the treatment landscape for autoimmune diseases. The immune checkpoint LAG-3 has been identified as a promising target for agonist immunotherapy to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis, among other autoimmune diseases.1,2,3 IMP761 is designed to restore balance to the immune system by enhancing the "brake" function of LAG-3 to silence unregulated self-antigen-specific memory T cells. These T cells accumulate at disease sites and are the underlying cause of many autoimmune diseases.