SAN DIEGO, California — AnaptysBio, Inc., a biotechnology company developing first-in-class antibody product candidates focused on unmet medical needs in inflammation and immuno-oncology, today announced first-in-human dosing of its proprietary anti-IL-33 antibody (ANB020) in a Phase I clinical trial. The double-blind, placebo-controlled single and multiple ascending dose trial is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ANB020 in healthy volunteers.

Interleukin-33, or IL-33, is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that multiple studies have indicated is a central mediator of atopic diseases, including atopic dermatitis, food allergies and asthma. IL-33 acts on white blood cell types that subsequently release atopic disease-mediating cytokines such as IL-5, IL-13 and IL-4. Since ANB020 potently inhibits IL-33 function, and acts upstream broadly across the key cell types involved in atopy, AnaptysBio believes its mechanism has potential advantages in human therapy over agents that block only a subset of the cytokines responsible for atopic diseases. The role of IL-33 signaling in asthma has been genetically validated through human studies published in the medical literature.

Subsequent to the completion of this Phase I study, AnaptysBio plans to continue clinical development of ANB020 in patients with atopic dermatitis, peanut allergy and asthma.

"We are pleased to advance ANB020 into the clinic and look forward to demonstrating proof-of-concept in patient studies that we plan to initiate later this year," said Hamza Suria, President & CEO of AnaptysBio. "IL-33 signaling plays an important role in atopic diseases and we believe ANB020 is the most advanced antibody targeting the IL-33 cytokine. ANB020 was advanced from initial concept to the clinic by AnaptysBio, and stands as a testament to our antibody discovery and development capabilities."