Our drug candidates
AON-D21 (anti-C5a): Our lead asset is currently being tested in a double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial in 100 patients diagnosed with severe community-acquired pneumonia in 5 European countries (ADCAP).
Severe pneumonia is a serious infectious disease – commonly neglected – with a billion Dollar potential. Severe cases far too often end with the death of the patient although state-of-the-art treatment methods of Western medicine are applied.
AON-D21 neutralizes complement factor C5a, a central player of the immune system. C5a is believed to trigger excessive immune responses in severe inflammatory diseases and infections, often causing multi-organ failure and death.
Efficacy of AON-D21 and related C5a-neutralizing L‑aptamers was shown in various preclinical studies, including translational models of pneumonia and sepsis, and in lung cancer, most effectively in combination with immune checkpoint inhibition.
The broad role of the target C5a as an orchestrator of the human immune system holds promise to expand the indication spectrum into further diseases where immune modulation is desirable.
AON-S08 (anti-IL8): AON-S08 is a sub-nanomolar inhibitor of interleukin-8 (also called CXCL8). This drug candidate is being evaluated in preclinical studies.