InflaRx Shares New Preclinical Data on INF904 at 19th European Complement Meeting

InflaRx N.V., a biopharmaceutical company based in Jena, Germany, showcased its latest research on its novel oral C5aR inhibitor, INF904, at the 2024 European Meeting on Complement in Human Diseases (EMCHD) in Lübeck, Germany. This event, spanning from September 2 to 6, 2024, featured various sessions where InflaRx leadership discussed the role of the C5a/C5aR1 axis in inflammation and the importance of targeting C3 and C5 in therapeutic development.

Camilla Chong, the Chief Medical Officer of InflaRx, emphasized the company's commitment to advancing complement inhibition science and developing first-in-class and best-in-class anti-inflammatory therapies. She highlighted the promising preclinical data of INF904 presented at the conference, which demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory properties and strong pharmacokinetic (PK) characteristics.

The preclinical study on INF904, an oral small molecule antagonist to the complement 5a receptor1 (C5aR1), involved multiple researchers including Rui Liu, Zhongli Xu, Ophelia Chen, Bruce P. Burnett, Maria Habel, and Renfeng Guo. Their research indicated that INF904 is a highly selective and potent inhibitor of C5aR1 with promising efficacy in vivo. When compared to avacopan in a hamster neutropenia model, INF904 inhibited C5a-induced neutropenia by 96.5%, whereas avacopan achieved a 51.1% inhibition at the same dose. Moreover, INF904 demonstrated a more favorable PK profile with 2- to 5-fold higher exposure across different animal species. Importantly, INF904 exhibited minimal inhibition of the CYP3A4/5 enzymes, which are crucial for the metabolism of various drugs, including glucocorticoids. This was evidenced by its IC50 value of 62 µM compared to avacopan's 1.7 µM.

Additional studies by Zhongli Xu, Rui Liu, Ophelia Chen, Bruce P. Burnett, Maria Habel, and Renfeng Guo corroborated the efficacy of INF904 in inflammatory disease models. In vitro experiments showed that INF904 reduced neutrophil activation and effectively blocked CD11b upregulation on neutrophils in a dose-dependent manner. In three different hamster models, oral dosing of INF904 resulted in significant anti-inflammatory effects, including reduced neutrophil influx, decreased plasma levels of CREA and BUN, and histological improvements.

INF904 is an orally administered small molecule inhibitor of the C5a receptor, with demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects in pre-clinical models. Its minimal inhibition of CYP3A4/5 enzymes suggests a lower risk of drug-drug interactions. Initial human trials have shown that INF904 is well tolerated, with no safety concerns observed at single doses ranging from 3 mg to 240 mg or multiple doses ranging from 30 mg once per day to 90 mg twice per day over 14 days. The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data further underscore INF904's potential as a best-in-class C5aR inhibitor, achieving over 90% blockade of C5a-induced neutrophil activation during the 14-day dosing period.

InflaRx, founded in 2007, is dedicated to pioneering anti-inflammatory treatments through its proprietary anti-C5a and anti-C5aR technologies. The company's lead product candidate, vilobelimab, is an intravenously delivered anti-C5a monoclonal antibody that has demonstrated clinical efficacy and tolerability in multiple studies. InflaRx continues to develop innovative therapies, with offices and subsidiaries in Jena and Munich, Germany, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.