We are advancing the first Multi-Target Therapeutics™ based on our AB-101 Platform to treat and cure severe and common skin diseases. Alphyn’s Platform produces therapeutic candidates with the potential to be safer and more effective, and the possibility for faster development times and lower costs than standard drugs. Alphyn’s lead product candidate, AB-101a, is in a Phase 2a clinical trial for adults and children, starting at age 2, with atopic dermatitis. The first cohort has been completed, meeting all primary endpoints.
Our Vision: Complete, Effective and Safe.
A New Approach to Atopic Dermatitis.
Alphyn has developed AB-101a to be the first complete treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD), the most common form of eczema. With multiple bioactive components, AB-101a is expected to attack and eliminate the inflammation and itch of AD and, uniquely, combat the bacteria living on the AD skin that discharge toxins, which make AD symptoms worse and often cause infection and prevent healing.
AB-101a is a non-steroid, which is preferred by physicians and patients, topical AD treatment. It is targeted to offer patients and physicians a complete treatment for AD without the safety concerns of long-standing and new or experimental therapies. AB-101a’s safety profile suggests it may be the first AD topical drug that can be used long-term and continuously.
AD is a chronic disease that affects 2.4 percent of the population worldwide or some 170 million people globally. Its symptoms vary by individual but often include short or prolonged periods of severe inflammation, itchiness, rashes, scaly patches, blisters, and skin infections that cover small-to-large portions of the body.
70%
Itch is severe, unbearable
55%
Inadequate disease control
5.9 Million
Lost workdays each year
160%
Increase in suicide risk
While historically viewed as exclusively an autoimmune disease, a growing body of evidence indicates bacteria living on AD skin contribute to AD, making it more severe and difficult to treat. The common bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (or Staph) naturally lives on the skin and releases toxins. Approximately 30 to 60 percent of AD patients have alpha toxins produced by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus an its various strains1, 2 that are significantly associated with AD2. In patients with AD, who have a skin barrier dysfunction, this triggers an immune system response causing inflammation, itch, and sometimes infection—the more bacteria on the skin, the more severe the AD. Unfortunately, more than 30 percent of AD infections are caused by Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which is difficult to kill and can become life-threatening. Antibiotics are used to eliminate these bacteria, allowing the other AD drugs to be more helpful.
Many patients suffering from AD must take multiple medicines to treat their disease, and many of these therapeutics have safety considerations.
1 Wichmann K, Uter W, Weiss J, et al. Isolation of alpha-toxin-producing Staphylococcus aureus from the skin of highly sensitized adult patients with severe atopic dermatitis. Br J Dermatol. 2009;161(2):300–305.
2 Breuer K, Wittmann M, Kempe K, et al. Alpha-toxin is produced by skin colonizing Staphylococcus aureus and induces a T helper type 1 response in atopic dermatitis. Clin Exp Allergy. 2005;35:1088–1095.
Epidermolysis Bullosa
Alphyn anticipates next in development will be AB-101b to treat Epidermolysis Bullosa (or EB), a rare genetic disease characterized by extremely fragile skin that blisters and tears very easily, even from minor bumps and rubs. Potentially an orphan disease, EB afflicts some half a million people worldwide, primarily children, and there is currently no cure. AB-101b aims to treat EB symptoms, including inflammation, itch, and pain while fighting skin infection, a known cause of death in EB patients.
