Angion Awarded $4.76-Million Department of Defense Grant for Drug Candidate

Angion Biomedica Corp. recently announced it had received a $4.76-million Department of Defense (DoD) follow-on grant for ANG-3070, its precision drug candidate for the treatment of fibrotic diseases. The grant supports Angion’s development of ANG-3070 in primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a form of chronic kidney disease.

The CDMRP grant complements and expands upon a prior DoD Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) award of $2.2 million, which established preclinical proof-of-concept for ANG-3070 as an anti-fibrotic agent with the potential to delay or halt the progression of FSGS.

“Receiving a second, highly competitive DoD grant for the development of ANG-3070 as a rationally designed, precision medicine treatment for FSGS validates both the robust preclinical data we have generated for the ANG-3070 program and the strength of Angion’s molecularly targeted approach,” said Prakash Narayan, PhD, Principal Investigator & Vice President of Preclinical Research.

“We are honored to receive this funding and remain committed to rapidly advancing ANG-3070 to the clinic with an IND expected in the second half of 2019,” added Jay Venkatesan, MD, Chief Executive Officer.

Angion is partnering with the Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network (NEPTUNE), an integrated group of academic medical centers, patient support organizations and clinical research resources dedicated to advancing the understanding and treatment of kidney disorders, to investigate ANG-3070. The study aims to identify the “signalosome,” or human disease and drug response profile based on the genes, networks and pathways that correlate with the therapeutic activity of ANG-3070 in FSGS.

“FSGS is an important glomerular disease that can progress to kidney failure in nearly half of affected patients. It involves both children and young adults,” said Dr. Howard Trachtman, Professor of Pediatrics at NYU School of Medicine. “Despite many years of research, there remains no approved treatment for this devastating disease.”

NEPTUNE is the first US multisite, prospective cohort designed to enroll individuals with proteinuria at the time of their clinically indicated kidney biopsy for primary glomerular disease, which includes characterization of gene expression, phenotype and pathology. These data will inform inclusion criteria for a biomarker stratified prospective clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ANG-3070 in primary FSGS patients, ensuring the targeting of the patient population most likely to benefit from treatment. Ultimately, these data will support the completion of the IND application enabling human clinical studies of ANG-3070 for FSGS and other fibrotic conditions.

“One of the great challenges in the treatment of patients with FSGS is that responses have been unpredictable when utilizing available diagnostic strategies,” said Dr. Matthias Kretzler, Professor of Nephrology at the University of Michigan and Principle Investigator of the Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network. “We believe that a precision medicine approach that matches patients to therapies that target the molecular drivers of their disease is critical to adequately treat FSGS.”

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is serious kidney disorder characterized by progressive scarring of the glomeruli, the filtering units of the kidney. FSGS can be caused by a variety of conditions and is a leading cause of kidney failure in adults. There are currently no approved treatments for FSGS and approximately 40% of FSGS cases are resistant to available treatment options. If uncontrolled, FSGS can lead to kidney failure, which may ultimately lead to the need for dialysis or kidney transplants.

ANG-3070 is a rationally designed, orally bioavailable small molecule fibrokinase inhibitor in advanced preclinical development for treatment of chronic fibrotic diseases. ANG-3070 has exhibited preferential activity against molecular pathways involved in and associated with poor outcomes of renal fibrosis. Preclinical data in a range of animal models, including numerous glomerulosclerosis models, have demonstrated ANG-3070’s therapeutic activity with decreased scarring and fibrosis in target organs. ANG-3070 is currently in development as a precision medicine for primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, targeting patients most likely to benefit from treatment via a biomarker driven approach. An IND application is expected in the second half of 2019.

Angion Biomedica Corp. is a biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing novel therapeutic agents for acute and chronic organ injuries, with an initial focus on nephrology. Angion’s therapeutic programs modulate the natural protective, reparative, and regenerative pathways of the body in both orphan diseases and larger clinical indications. The Company’s pre-clinical and clinical portfolio targets areas of high unmet need across a spectrum of therapeutic indications, including acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. For more information, visit www.angion.com.