Equillium, Inc. is advancing its novel and potent aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) modulator (EQ504) development program.
EQ504 was acquired via Ariagen, a biotechnology company that was majority owned by Equillium’s largest investor, Decheng Capital. EQ504 is a potent and selective AhR modulator with a unique, multi-modal, non-immunosuppressive mechanism of action that is complementary to other inflammation and immunology agents.
Subject to additional capital, the company plans to initiate a Phase 1 study to demonstrate targeted proof of mechanism.
AhR is critical to barrier organ tissue physiology and immunology, where it maintains barrier function, promotes tissue repair and regeneration, and regulates resident immune cells and anti-inflammatory responses. Modulation of AhR is a clinically validated pathway in the treatment of both skin and gastrointestinal diseases demonstrating high levels of clinical efficacy.
“Decades of research has identified the AhR pathway as an important physiological regulator of immune homeostasis in barrier tissues,” says Francisco J. Quintana, PhD, Professor of Neurology at the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. “Unique to AhR is that its activation can promote both barrier function and anti-inflammatory pathways highlighting it as an attractive therapeutic target. Indeed, the first AhR-activating drug tapinarof (Vtama, Organon) was recently approved for the treatment of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis while clinical trials are underway to evaluate the effects of AhR modulators in other inflammatory diseases.”
Additional data will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) in Honolulu, HI.
