공시 • Mar 04
AN2 Therapeutics, Inc. Announces Plans to Advance Oral Epetraborole Into Phase 2 Study For Polycythemia Vera
AN2 Therapeutics, Inc. announced its plans to expand the development of oral epetraborole into a Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical study in adults with phlebotomy-dependent polycythemia vera (PV). PV is a blood cancer characterized by overproduction of red blood cells in the bone marrow. This overproduction increases hematocrit which can lead to serious medical complications, including arterial and venous thromboembolic events. The Company’s decision to pursue PV is supported by data from multiple clinical trials of oral epetraborole in healthy volunteers and non-PV patients in which the drug consistently demonstrated early, controlled, sustained, and dose-dependent reductions in hematocrit at potentially clinically meaningful levels for PV. Epetraborole’s effects were characterized by the following pharmacodynamic and clinical observations: Consistent hematocrit reductions across multiple clinical populations, including healthy volunteers and nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease patients, with effects sustained over a six-month treatment period; Early onset of hematocrit reduction after dose initiation with durable, stable control and reversibility at treatment cessation; No clinically relevant change in white blood cell counts and minimal change in platelet counts; Demonstrated durable hematocrit reduction in 9-month chronic non-human primate studies; A potentially differentiated mechanism of action, likely acting on globin synthesis rather than directly on heme synthesis. Epetraborole has been generally well tolerated in clinical trials to date at doses anticipated for the treatment of PV. The Company is currently proceeding through the regulatory clearance process and anticipates initiating the Phase 2 trial in the third quarter of 2026. The Company expects to provide periodic public data updates as early as the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory clearance and enrollment progress. PV is a blood cancer characterized by overproduction of red blood cells in the bone marrow. This overproduction increases hematocrit which can lead to serious medical complications, including arterial and venous thromboembolic events. If untreated, PV can be life-threatening. Despite available therapies, many patients experience uncontrolled hematocrit levels and persistent symptom burden, requiring long term management to maintain adequate disease control. PV is estimated to affect approximately 155,000 people in the U.S. This planned Phase 2 study consists of an open-label epetraborole sentinel cohort, an open-label dose optimization cohort for dose selection (Part 1), followed by a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled cohort (Part 2), and an optional open-label extension cohort (Part 3). The study is designed to assess the efficacy of oral epetraborole in phlebotomy-dependent adults with PV and its effect on key hematological variables, to optimize a dose regimen on a by-patient level, to assess safety and tolerability, to assess patient-reported outcomes (PROs) using validated PRO instruments, and to assess other key hematological parameters. Epetraborole is a boron-containing, orally available, small molecule that has shown dose and exposure-dependent decreases in hematocrit. Evidence suggests that it operates by reducing production of early-stage erythrocytes (red blood cells) while sparing other cell lineages in the marrow, including white blood cells and platelets. Epetraborole’s clinical data package supporting evaluation in PV is comprehensive, including 10 Phase 1 studies, two Phase 2 studies, and a Phase 2/3 study in NTM lung disease. The drug has been generally well tolerated in prior trials at doses anticipated for PV and, to date, no tolerability barriers to long-term use have been identified. Epetraborole, if approved, would represent a distinct chemical class in both PV and anti-infectives.