While injectable Factor XIIa antibody therapies are currently in clinical studies for HAE prophylaxis and other indications, developing oral Factor XIIa inhibitors has been a significant scientific challenge, and our newly announced program represents a major breakthrough in this area. Our internal research team has discovered multiple series of low nanomolar potency Factor XIIa inhibitors with high degrees of selectivity and oral bioavailability. We are pursuing comprehensive IP protection for this advanced medicinal chemistry program that is currently in lead optimization. We anticipate advancing the first candidate in this program to clinical studies in 2023.
Factor XIIa
We recently introduced an oral Factor XIIa (FXIIa) inhibitor program which we believe represents the next generation of therapies that may further improve the treatment of HAE for patients.
There is a strong scientific rationale and positive clinical evidence for FXIIa inhibition in HAE prophylaxis. We believe that inhibition of Factor XIIa can be designed to block the most upstream mechanism in the contact system. Clinical studies of Factor XIIa antibodies have demonstrated efficacy in preventing HAE attacks, and there are no known safety implications of long-term inhibition of this enzyme.