The European Commission (EC) has granted a €6m grant to the "FIGHT HLH" consortium of institutions to support clinical testing of NovImmune's anti-interferon gamma drug candidate, NI-0501.
The FIGHT HLH consortium lead by NovImmune includes Meyer University Children Hospital, Pediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù and Lonza Biologics institutions, all working to reduce the impact of HLH, an orphan disease, on patients and their families.
NovImmune chief medical officer Cristina de Min said, "The program is designed to give a clear readout on the ability of the drug to affect disease course and benefit these high-need patients.''
NovImmune CEO Jack Barbut said, "NovImmune is delighted to have been selected by the European Commission for such a prestigious grant, as NI-0501 holds the potential to become the first approved and targeted therapy to fight HLH."
The Principal Investigator of the first clinical trial of the FIGHT HLH program, Prof. Maurizio Aricò, said, "We are thrilled by the opportunity to collaborate with NovImmune to advance NI-0501 into clinical development as the evidence is compelling that interferon-gamma (IFN?) is a primary driver of the disease and dramatic results in preclinical models have been demonstrated."
The NI-0501 development program in HLH has been designed with the support of Europe and the US experts.