Sanofi, Regeneron’s monotherapy reduces loss of asthma control, improves lung function vs placebo

Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said Friday a Phase 2 proof-of-concept trial evaluating the investigational IL-33 antibody REGN3500 (SAR440340) met the primary endpoint of improvement in loss of asthma control when comparing REGN3500 monotherapy to placebo.

Sanofi said that the trial also met a key secondary endpoint, as the monotherapy improved lung function compared to placebo.

As explained in the press release by the companies, the greatest improvement was observed in patients with blood eosinophil levels ≥300 cells/microliter. Sanofi said that the patients treated with Dupixent (dupilumab) monotherapy did numerically better than REGN3500 across all endpoints, although the trial was not powered to show differences between active treatment arms. Furthermore, the combination of REGN3500 and Dupixent also did not show increased benefit compared to Dupixent monotherapy in this trial.

According to George D. Yancopoulos, President and Chief Scientific Officer at Regeneron, this trial suggests that REGN3500 may provide an alternative targeted approach for patients suffering from asthma.

Steve Pascoe, from Sanofi’s Immuno-Inflammation Development said they’re going to evaluate results from ongoing studies for SAR440340 in atopic dermatitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.