ASLAN Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Nasdaq: ASLN), a clinical-stage, immunology focused biopharmaceutical company developing innovative treatments to transform the lives of patients, today announced new positive translational data from a head-to-head study of eblasakimab versus dupilumab in a human tissue model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that provides further support for the potential of eblasakimab as a biologic therapy for COPD. In addition, the Company announced the appointment of respiratory experts Dr Ramaswamy Krishnan, MS MPhil PhD, Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Dr Reynold Panettieri Jr, MD, Vice Chancellor, Translational Medicine and Science, Rutgers University to ASLAN’s Scientific Advisory Board as it evaluates the potential use of eblasakimab as a therapy to treat COPD in addition to atopic dermatitis (AD).
“Having collaborated with the ASLAN team on the impressive translational data from the head-to-head study of eblasakimab and dupilumab in COPD patient tissue, I am pleased to formally join the Scientific Advisory Board to further explore eblasakimab’s potential in COPD,” said Dr Ramaswamy Krishnan, MS MPhil PhD, Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School.
“I’m delighted to work with the ASLAN team on this exciting opportunity to evaluate development paths for eblasakimab in COPD, a Type 2-driven disease. I believe there’s a great opportunity for biologics to transform the treatment landscape for this chronic condition, just as we have observed in the management of other respiratory diseases such as severe asthma. These new data suggest eblasakimab has the potential to be a best-in-class biologic treatment for COPD and I look forward to our partnership,” said Dr Reynold Panettieri Jr, MD, Vice Chancellor, Translational Medicine and Science, Rutgers University.
In November 2023, ASLAN announced translational data from healthy donor tissue that suggested eblasakimab’s potential as a COPD therapeutic to inhibit Type 2 inflammation. Further studies have been conducted using lung tissue from a COPD patient, comparing the same concentrations of eblasakimab and dupilumab. Each treatment condition was tested in at least 6 precision cut lung slices. In the COPD patient tissue, eblasakimab was effective in restoring constriction in response to challenges with IL-4 and IL-13, and demonstrated rapid, formoterol-induced airway dilation in constricted airways. Formoterol is a long-acting beta agonist, a class of drugs commonly used by asthmatic and COPD patients to treat their disease. Notably, this preliminary data showed eblasakimab performed better than dupilumab at the same concentrations in several areas, including the restoration of airway function after challenges with IL-4 and IL-13.
“We believe that eblasakimab has the potential to be a leading treatment option as we explore its applicability in other diseases besides AD, such as COPD, a large, underserved market with no approved biologics. We look forward to working with Drs Krishnan and Panettieri, and potential partners, to consider potential proof-of-concept Phase 2 study designs in COPD and exploring novel endpoints from recently conducted biologic studies,” said Dr Carl Firth, Chief Executive Officer, ASLAN Pharmaceuticals.
Further translational data on eblasakimab in COPD will be submitted for publication at upcoming scientific congresses.
About Ramaswamy Krishnan, MS MPhil PhD, Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Ramaswamy Krishnan, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His laboratory focuses on lung mechanics and mechanotransduction, with an emphasis on how airways contract and relax. To this end, he has invented a suite of technologies to measure airway cell and tissue contraction, relaxation, force transmission, and force transduction. These technologies have not only enabled the discovery of new drug candidates for COPD and asthma in his own laboratory, but are also being utilized worldwide as translational approaches for assessing bronchoprotective and bronchodilatory function of pending candidate medications. Dr Krishnan received his PhD in mechanical engineering from Columbia University and undertook his postdoctoral research in lung physiology at Harvard. He has published over 75 articles, reviews, editorials and chapters, many in renowned peer-reviewed journals including Nature Cell Biology and Nature Materials.
About Dr Reynold Panettieri Jr, MD Vice Chancellor, Translational Medicine and Science, Rutgers University
Reynold A Panettieri Jr, MD, is the inaugural Director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Science and Vice Chancellor for Translational Medicine and Science at Rutgers University, having previously served as the Director of the Airways Biology Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr Panettieri’s lab focuses on the immunobiology of airway smooth muscle, impact of environmental toxins on airway hyperresponsiveness and identification of novel targets and platforms for therapeutic approaches in asthma and COPD. In addition to his research and clinical interests, Dr Panettieri served as chairperson of the NIH Lung Cellular, Molecular and Immunobiology Study Section, and is a member of the NIH Distinguished Editorial Panel. Dr Panettieri has about 450 publications and undertook his medical training at the University of Pennsylvania.
