Abivax SA is a French clinical-stage, publicly traded

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

company harnessing the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells and objects such ...

to develop novel treatments against

inflammatory diseases Inflammation (from la, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molecu ...

viral diseases Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...

and

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

. The company is headquartered in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, France and closely cooperates with the

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,63 ...

Collaborative Laboratory in Montpellier, France.

Founding and IPO

Abivax has been founded in December 2013 in

under the leadership of Truffle Capital by Phillipe Pouletty, co-founder and chairman of the board. In 2015, Abivax launched its initial public offering on the stock market Euronext in Paris, raising EUR 57.7m, a record amount for a French biotechnology company on the Euronext in Paris. Initially, Abivax focused on the development of a novel treatment in HIV with lead drug candidate ABX464. As the molecule showed a strong anti-inflammatory effect in preclinical models, Abivax decided to conduct a Phase 2a clinical study in ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Based on the promising results of this clinical study in ulcerative colitis, the company decided to shift its focus towards the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases.

Pipeline

ABX464 in inflammatory diseases

Abivax focuses on the treatment of

, namely

ulcerative colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood ( hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, an ...

(UC),

Crohn’s disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distension, ...

(CD),

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and ...

(RA) and also

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

, where the hyper-inflammation syndrome is known to be the cause of the severe form of the disease. Its lead drug candidate, ABX464, is an oral, first-in-class, small molecule that has demonstrated safety and tolerability as well as profound anti-inflammatory activity in preclinical as well as clinical trials in UC and

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

ABX464 for the treatment of ulcerative colitis

ABX464 is currently being tested in a clinical Phase 2b trial in patients with moderate-to-severe

, composed of an induction and a maintenance study, conducted in 15 European countries, Canada and the US. The previously conducted Phase 2a induction and maintenance studies in UC generated very promising results with regard to safety and tolerability, as well as durable efficacy of ABX464 after the second year of treatment.

ABX464 for the treatment of Crohn’s disease

Based on the good safety profile and promising efficacy results obtained for ABX464 in UC and due to the clinical similarities of CD and UC, Abivax has been encouraged by its KOLs to initiate a pivotal Phase 2b/3 trial for the treatment of CD.

ABX464 for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

In addition to the clinical observations in UC patients, Abivax generated promising pre-clinical data from collagen-induced arthritis animal models that were the basis for moving into the ongoing Phase 2a clinical trial in

. The study investigates the safety and tolerability of ABX464 in combination with methotrexate in patients with moderate-to-severe active RA. Patients enrolled in the study had an inadequate response to methotrexate or/and to one or more antitumor necrosis factor alpha (

TNFα Tumor necrosis factor (TNF, cachexin, or cachectin; formerly known as tumor necrosis factor alpha or TNF-α) is an adipokine and a cytokine. TNF is a member of the TNF superfamily, which consists of various transmembrane proteins with a homolog ...

) therapies.

ABX464 for the treatment of COVID-19

Due to the lack of an effective vaccine or treatment option and based on the potentially beneficial effect of ABX464 to reduce the severity of COVID-19 disease and to prevent acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), Abivax decided to expand its clinical trial program to treat COVID-19 high-risk patients. The company has initiated a Phase 2b/3 clinical trial to test the potentially beneficial antiviral, anti-inflammatory and tissue repair properties of ABX464 in this indication.

ABX196 for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

ABX196 is Abivax’s second drug candidate currently in clinical development. ABX196 has been developed as a synthetic agonist of iNKT cells, demonstrating immune enhancing effects in cancer models. Together with the Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, California, and the

MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, Texas, Abivax is currently conducting a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of ABX196 to treat patients with

hepatocellular carcinoma Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer in adults and is currently the most common cause of death in people with cirrhosis. HCC is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. It occurs in th ...

(HCC), the most common form of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

Abivax research activities

Abivax is conducting all R&D work in Montpellier where half of the company’s staff is based at its collaborative laboratory. The scientists in Montpellier closely collaborate with the

French National Center for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...

(CNRS), the

Institut Curie Centre of protontherapy Institut Curie is one of the leading medical, biological and biophysical research centres in the world. It is a private non-profit foundation operating a research center on biophysics, cell biology and oncology and a h ...

and the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest universities in the wor ...

References

{{reflist 2015 initial public offerings Biotechnology companies established in 2013 Biotechnology companies of France Companies based in Paris Companies listed on Euronext Paris French companies established in 2013 Life sciences industry Pharmaceutical companies established in 2013 Pharmaceutical companies of France