Business
Equillium Announces Initiation of the EQUALISE Phase 1b Clinical Trial of Itolizumab for Patients with Lupus Nephritis and Provides Business Update
Company secures up to $20 million debt facility with Silicon Valley Bank and Oxford Finance LLC Company receives exclusive rights to negotiate licensing
About this update from Equillium, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Company secures up to $20 million debt facility with Silicon Valley Bank and Oxford Finance LLC\n Company receives exclusive rights to negotiate licensing rights to develop and commercialize itolizumab in select major markets outside of North America Management to host conference call today, Tuesday, October 1, at 4:30 p.m. ET LA JOLLA, Calif., Oct. 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Equillium, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQ), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging deep understanding of immunobiology to develop products to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, today announced it has initiated the EQUALISE Phase 1b clinical trial of itolizumab (EQ001) in patients with lupus nephritis and provided an update on its ongoing clinical programs. Additionally, Equillium announced an agreement with Silicon Valley Bank and Oxford Finance to secure a term loan for up to $20 million, and that the company has secured exclusive rights to negotiate licensing rights with third parties to develop and commercialize itolizumab in select major markets outside of North America. “We are pleased with the progress that we’ve made in a short period of time. We have initiated three clinical trials of itolizumab in lupus nephritis, uncontrolled asthma and acute graft-versus-host disease where there is a substantial need to address the severe aspects of these diseases for patients where there are few to no therapies approved,” said Daniel Bradbury, chairman and chief executive officer of Equillium. “We are optimistic about our trajectory to advance itolizumab for patients in these indications and are proud to partner with Silicon Valley Bank and Oxford Finance to further strengthen our cash position.” EQUALISE is a Phase 1b multiple ascending dose trial that is evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD), and clinical activity of itolizumab in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis. Data from the SLE cohort of this trial is expected in the second half of 2020, with data from the lupus nephritis cohort expected in the first half of 2021. The trial design and initiation has been a joint effort with the lupus community including working closely with leading clinical and scientific experts in the lupus field, the Lupus Research Alliance, and patients living with lupus and/or lupus neph...