Efficacy and safety of rademikibart (CBP-201), a next-generation mAb targeting IL-4Rα, in adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis: A phase 2 randomized trial (CBP-201-WW001).

BACKGROUND: Rademikibart (CBP-201) is a next-generation IL-4 receptor alpha-targeting antibody. OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate rademikibart in adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. METHODS: A total of 226 patients were randomized, double-blind, to subcutaneous rademikibart (300 mg every 2 weeks [Q2W], 150 mg Q2W, 300 mg every 4 weeks [Q4W]; plus 600-mg loading dose) or placebo. Randomization began in July 2020. The trial was completed in October 2021. RESULTS: The WW001 phase 2 trial achieved its primary end point: significant percent reduction from baseline in least-squares mean Eczema Area Severity Index (EASI) to week 16 with rademikibart 300 mg Q2W (-63.0%; P = .0007), 150 mg Q2W (-57.6%; P = .0067), 300 mg Q4W (-63.5%; P = .0004) versus placebo (-39.7%). EASI scores decreased significantly with 300 mg Q2W and Q4W at the earliest assessment (week 2), with no evidence of plateauing by week 16. Significant improvements were also observed in secondary end points, including pruritus. Across the primary and secondary end points, efficacy tended to be comparable with 300 mg Q2W and Q4W dosing. Rademikibart and placebo had similar, low incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) (48% vs 54%), serious TEAEs (1.8% vs 3.6%), TEAEs leading to treatment discontinuation (1.2% vs 1.8%), conjunctivitis of unspecified cause (2.9% vs 0%), herpes (0.6% vs 1.8%), and injection-site reactions (1.8% vs 1.8%). Although no discontinuations were attributed to coronavirus disease 2019, pandemic-related restrictions likely had an impact on trial conduct. CONCLUSIONS: Rademikibart was efficacious and well tolerated at Q2W and Q4W intervals. Q4W dosing is a more convenient frequency than approved for current therapies.

Development of nanotubes coated with platinum nanodendrites using a virus as a template.

We developed a facile method to fabricate platinum (Pt) porous nanotubes coated with interconnected Pt dendrites using the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) as a template. The surface-exposed arginine residues of the TMV induced the selective deposition of Pt seeds on the TMV outside surface, and poly(sodium-p-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) was chosen to stabilize the dispersity of TMV coated with Pt seeds (TMV/SPt). The limited space between the Pt seeds and their uniform distribution on the TMV exterior confined the growth of Pt dendrites, resulting in continuous dendritic platinum nanotubes (TMV/DPtNT). The synergistic effects of porous dendrites and anisotropic structures of the TMV/DPtNTs provided an increase in the active sites, the enhancement of transport efficiency and long-distance electron transfer, which greatly improved the catalytic activity. We also demonstrated that such nanotubes could be used in the detection of H2O2 with good sensitivity.

Tobacco Mosaic Virus with Peroxidase-Like Activity for Cancer Cell Detection through Colorimetric Assay.

Cell-based ELISA (CELLISA) has been widely used in disease diagnosis due to its simplicity and low cost. Recently, peroxidase-like nanomaterials have emerged as promising systems for CELLISA applications. In this work, tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was simultaneously tailored with peroxidase-like inorganic nanoparticles (platinum nanoparticles) and cancer cell target groups (folic acid, FA) to obtain TMV-FA-Pt nanoparticles for cancer cell detection. Induced by the uniformly distributed reactive groups and well-defined structure of the TMV particle, platinum nanoparticles could be grown in situ on the exterior surface of TMV with excellent monodispersity and uniform spatial distribution. Meanwhile, FA with a PEG1000 linker was successfully conjugated to the coat proteins of TMV through the Cu(I)-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition reaction, an efficient "click" chemistry. Our study demonstrated that the resultant TMV-FA-Pt had specific affinity to cancer cells and was successfully used to detect cancer cells through CELLISA. Less than 1.0 × 104 cells/mL of cancer cells could be readily detected.

Icanbelimod (CBP-307), a next-generation Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor modulator, in healthy men: pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety, and tolerability in a randomized trial in Australia.

Background: Icanbelimod (formerly CBP-307) is a next-generation S1PR modulator, targeting S1PR1. In this first-in-human study, icanbelimod was investigated in healthy men in Australia. Methods: Participants were randomized 3:1, double-blind, to icanbelimod or placebo in four single-dose cohorts (0.1 mg, 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg [n=8 per cohort], 2.5 mg [n=4]) or for 28-days once-daily treatment in two cohorts (0.15 mg, 0.25 mg [n=8 per cohort]). Participants in the 0.25-mg cohort received 0.1 mg on Day 1. Treatments were administered orally after fasting; following one-week washout, icanbelimod was administered after breakfast in the 0.5-mg cohort. Results: Icanbelimod exposure increased rapidly and dose-dependently with single and multiple dosing (Tmax 4-7 hours). Lymphocyte counts decreased rapidly after single (-11%, 0.1 mg; -40%, 0.25 mg; -71%, 0.5 mg; -77%, 2.5 mg) and multiple doses (-49%, 0.15 mg; -75%, 0.25 mg), and recovered quickly, 7 days after dosing. After single-dose 0.5 mg, although a high-fat breakfast versus fasting did not affect maximal decrease, lymphocyte counts tended to be lower after breakfast across most timepoints up to 72 hours. Twenty-eight participants (63.6%) experienced mainly mild treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs). After single-dose icanbelimod, the most common TEAEs were headache (28.6%, n=6) and dizziness (19.0%, n=4). Three participants experienced transient bradycardia, with one serious, following single-dose 2.5 mg icanbelimod. After multiple-dose icanbelimod, the most common TEAEs were headache (50.0%, n=6) and lymphopenia (41.7%, n=5), and two participants withdrew due to non-serious TEAEs. Up-titration attenuated heart rate reductions. Conclusion: Icanbelimod was well-tolerated up to 0.5 mg and effectively reduced lymphocyte counts. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02280434.b.

One-dimensional micro/nanomotors for biomedicine: delivery, sensing and surgery.

The rapid development of artificial micro/nanomachines brings promising strategies to overcome challenges in biomedicine, including delivery, sensing and surgery. One-dimensional (1D) micro/nanomotors are one of the most attractive micro/nanomachines due to their high specific surface area, powerful impetus and weak rotation diffusion. In this review, different propulsion mechanisms and motion control strategies of 1D micro/nanomotors are summarized, and recent efforts towards their fabrication methods and biomedical applications are discussed. We envision the multidisciplinary research efforts in the field of 1D micro/nanomotors will pave their way to practical applications in bioimaging and biomedicine.