Eledon Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s drug tegoprubart played a key role in the success of the second-ever kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig to a human being.
Tegoprubart, a medication aimed at preventing organ transplant rejection, was used as part of the immunosuppressive treatment regimen following the Jan. 25 transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital.
After the procedure, the patient was discharged from the hospital and is reportedly off dialysis for the first time in over two years.
“It’s remarkable to go from basically having no kidney function to normal kidney function,” Chief Executive Dr. David-Alexandre “DA” Gros told the Business Journal.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Mass General to perform two more xenotransplants this year.
Tegoprubart was used the first time the procedure was performed last year on a 62-year-old man who had end-stage kidney disease.
The patient, Richard Slayman, passed away two months after the procedure due to unrelated medical complications, according to Mass General’s transplant team.
“We have no indication that it was the result of his recent transplant,” the team said in a statement. “Mr. Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope to countless tran plant patients worldwide, and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation.”
Eledon Broadens Research Focus
The Irvine-based drug research company is best known for its work on ALS, a disease that afflicted the late Orange County fitness exec Augie Nieto.
Nieto and his wife Lynne founded the nonprofit Augie’s Quest to Cure ALS to fund the discovery of a new drug candidate for ALS.
Tegoprubart, formerly known as AT-1501, is the culmination of years of research and experimentation by the ALS Therapy Development Institute with funding from Augie’s Quest.
In the last few years, Eledon has broadened its focus into new research areas including organ transplants and islet cell transplantation, a procedure that helps restore the ability to produce insulin in patients with Type 1 Diabetes.
“In order to become the cornerstone immunosuppressant, we have to be working in all of these different types of transplants, which is exactly what we’re doing,” Gros said.
Right now is a difficult time for drug research companies to get funding for ALS, according to Gros. The disease being so fast-progressing and hard to treat makes it a risky bet for investors, he said.
Despite this, Gros said that the company hopes to do more ALS work in the future.
“A lot of our DNA is in ALS,” Gros said. “This all comes back to Auggie and his vision, but it’s just taking a little longer for us to get ALS done.”
Raised $135M Last Year
Eledon last year completed two financings for a total of $135 million, part of which is funding the company’s current Phase 2 Bestow trial comparing tegoprubart to tacrolimus.
The company finished enrolling 120 participants four months ahead of schedule and expects to report topline results from the trial in fourth quarter of this year.
Eledon has two other ongoing studies running in parallel to the Bestow trial.
“Our focus is the execution of these trials to generate data that we can use to report out to the transplant community, to patients, to their families and, of course, investors,” Gros said.
