ABLYNX TO PRESENT PRE-CLINICAL PROOF-OF-CONCEPT DA

GHENT, Belgium, Oct. 28, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX] today announced that pre-clinical proof-of-concept data from ALX-0761, a Nanobody® partnered with Merck Serono, will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), 26 to 30 October 2013, San Diego, California.

The poster presentation will include data from in vivo experiments that assessed the efficacy of ALX-0761 in a cynomolgus monkey model that mimics human rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, total target levels of both IL-17A and IL-17F, pharmacodynamic biomarkers, immunogenicity and drug exposure were analysed.

The proof-of-concept results demonstrated that both IL-17A and IL-17F play a role in the onset and/or maintenance of rheumatoid arthritis and that ALX-0761 improved the clinical endpoints: X-ray score B (the score for bone erosion or architectural joint destruction accompanied by bone erosion) and the arthritis score (the total of the swelling scores of the individual joints). Furthermore, promising biomarkers were identified to aid further clinical development.

The abstract "Pre-clinical proof-of-concept of ALX-0761, a Nanobody neutralising both IL-17A and IL-17F in a cynomolgus monkey collagen induced arthritis model" is available on the ACR website at http://acrannualmeeting.org/ . (Presentation No. 1287; Poster Presentation on 28 October from 8.30 am PDT to 4.00 pm PDT in the Poster Area).

ALX-0761 is a trivalent Nanobody that neutralises both IL-17A and IL-17F and that binds to human serum albumin for in vivo half-life extension. It is currently in development by Ablynx's partner Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

About Ablynx

Ablynx is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of Nanobodies ^® , a novel class of therapeutic proteins based on single-domain antibody fragments, for a range of serious human diseases, including inflammation, haematology, oncology and pulmonary disease. Today, the Company has approximately 25 programmes in the pipeline and six Nanobodies at clinical development stage. Ablynx has on-going research collaborations and significant partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies including AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eddingpharm, Merck & Co, Merck Serono and Novartis. The Company is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. More information can be found on www.ablynx.com .

pdf version of the press release: http://hugin.info/137912/R/1738365/583120.pdf