Positive Early Clinical Results for Amplio Pharma
Amsterdam Academic Ventures company Amplio Pharma announced encouraging early results for a new rheumatoid arthritis treatment called NovoBioJect. In a small study with 12 patients, the treatment helped to generate more of the active form of methotrexate, the most widely used first medicine for this disease, inside the immune cells that drive inflammation. The company reports no side effects other than mild reactions at the injection site.
Methotrexate is prescribed to most newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis patients, but only about 40% reach remission on it alone. The idea is that the drug often fails because the immune cells push it out before it can work. NovoBioJect adds a small dose of novobiocin, an old antibiotic, which blocks this clearing mechanism. In the study, a single dose led to 38% more of the active drug inside the immune cells compared with methotrexate alone. The company expects this could help more patients respond to the first-line treatment, so that fewer need the much more expensive second-line medicines.
The next step is a larger study with about 100 newly diagnosed patients, which should show whether the higher drug levels lead to better results for patients. It is planned to start in 2027. Amplio is currently raising about €10 million to fund these trials. The company plans to bring the treatment through this stage and then look for a partner to take it through the later phases of development and onto the market. Read more
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