Drug candidate selected for ABS-201, a novel, potentially category-defining anti-PRLR antibody in development for androgenic alopecia

Leading AI platform demonstrated breakthrough in successful de novo design of antibody targeting previously difficult-to-drug epitope in the HIV "caldera" region

VANCOUVER, Wash. and NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Absci Corporation (Nasdaq: ABSI), a data-first generative AI drug creation company, today announced updates and progress across its internal pipeline of proprietary Drug Creation programs, as well as new breakthroughs demonstrated by Absci's AI Integrated Drug Creation platform. Absci leadership and a series of distinguished guest speakers will be presenting on these updates today at Absci's 2024 R&D Day.

"Today's updates represent another major step forward for Absci, as we continue to demonstrate our leadership in de novo AI antibody design, which is driving significant advancements in our internal and partnered programs," said Sean McClain, Founder and CEO. "We are excited to showcase the target and significant opportunities we see for ABS-201, present new data for ABS-101 and ABS-301, and introduce ABS-501 to our pipeline. ABS-201, a potential treatment for male and female pattern hair loss, represents an opportunity to unlock an entirely new category of therapy for a substantial consumer-driven market with significant clinical unmet need. And as we near the end of 2024, we see next year as an opportunity to reach multiple milestones across our internal portfolio, and maintain a robust pipeline of potential partners across the Pharma and broader healthcare industry landscape."

Speakers and topics to be covered during today's presentation include:

Absci Leadership

• Sean McClain, Founder & CEO, Absci
• Andreas Busch, PhD, Chief Innovation Officer, Absci
• Zach Jonasson, PhD, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Business Officer, Absci
• Amaro Taylor-Weiner, PhD, Chief AI Officer, Absci
• Christian Stegmann, PhD, SVP Drug Creation, Absci
  

Guest Presenters

• Sir Mene Pangalos, PhD, Biopharmaceutical Executive; Board Director, Absci; Co-Chair, Absci Scientific Advisory Board
• Dr. Luis Diaz, MD, Head of the Division of Solid Tumor Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Advisor, Absci
• Dr. Dennis Slamon, MD, PhD, Chief of Division of Hematology and Oncology, UCLA Medicine
• Karl Ziegelbauer, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Almirall
• Dr. Anthony Rossi, MD, Attending Dermatologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Professor of Dermatology, Weill Cornell Medical College; Advisor, Absci
• Mike Jafar, Medical Aesthetics Executive; Advisor, Absci

ABS-201
ABS-201 is a potential best-in-class anti-PRLR antibody in development for androgenic alopecia, an indication with significant clinical unmet need and a large potential patient population of approximately 80 million individuals in the U.S. alone.

• Absci has nominated a drug candidate with preclinical profile suggesting:
  • High affinity and potency
  • Favorable safety and immunogenicity
  • Extended half-life for convenient infrequent dosing
  • Excellent developability and manufacturability
• Preclinical model demonstrates improved hair regrowth compared to minoxidil
• ABS-201 has potential to offer a safe option as compared to current standard of care
• Anticipate initiation of Phase 1 clinical trial in 1H 2026

ABS-101
ABS-101 is a potential best-in-class anti-TL1A antibody that demonstrates high affinity and potency, ability to bind the monomer and trimer of TL1A, anticipated low immunogenicity, high bioavailability in non-human primates, and potential to be administered subcutaneously with an anticipated dosing interval of 8-12 weeks, or even less frequently.

• ABS-101 shows reduced internalization of TL1A complexes in in vitro THP-1 immunogenicity tests compared to a competitor molecule with a high clinical anti-drug antibody (ADA) rate.
  • This suggests a lower chance of developing ADAs in clinical settings, as internalization of mAb:TL1A complexes could contribute to immune activation and ADA formation.
• 13-week GLP toxicology studies: No treatment-related adverse findings during in-life phase and necropsy were observed; histopathology is pending.
• Anticipate initiation of Phase 1 clinical trial in 1H 2025

ABS-301
ABS-301 is a potential first-in-class antibody for an undisclosed immuno-oncology target, discovered through Absci's AI Reverse Immunology target discovery platform.

• Expression of ABS-301's target suggests broad potential in squamous cell carcinomas and beyond.
• For this program, Absci has optimized an antibody lead with high affinity and potency, and anticipates selecting a drug candidate in 1H 2025.

ABS-501
ABS-501 is a potential best-in-class novel AI-designed anti-HER2 antibody.

• Absci has identified lead molecules using its zero-shot de novo AI technology with the following characteristics:
  • Novel epitope interactions
  • Increased or equivalent affinity to trastuzumab in preclinical settings
  • Efficacious against a trastuzumab-resistant xenograft tumor expressing wild-type HER2
  • Good developability
• Anticipate selection of a drug candidate in 2025, and multiple paths for therapeutic development of this program are under consideration.

AI Platform Breakthrough Demonstrated through Collaboration with California Institute of Technology

• Absci has achieved a breakthrough by de novo designing an antibody that targets a previously difficult-to-drug epitope in the HIV "caldera" region. This breakthrough potentially aids the development of a universal HIV vaccine.
• Leveraging its proprietary de novo antibody design model AbsciDesign, Absci created antibodies targeting a highly conserved and structurally challenging region of the HIV gp120 protein. The "caldera" region, uniquely accessible only in the open conformation of gp120, has remained untargeted by previous broadly neutralizing antibodies.
• Preliminary screening data indicates that designs bind clades A, B, and C with selective binding to open conformation. Antibodies from this study will be further experimentally evaluated to confirm fidelity of the de novo designed structure and epitope specificity.
• Successful creation of these antibodies marks a potential pivotal milestone in HIV vaccine research and underscores the capability of AbsciDesign to target conserved epitopes that were previously considered out of reach.

A live and archived webcast of Absci's 2024 R&D Day may be accessed via the company's investor relations website at: investors.absci.com.

About Absci
Absci is a data-first generative AI drug creation company that combines AI with scalable wet lab technologies to create better biologics for patients, faster. Our Integrated Drug Creation platform unlocks the potential to accelerate time to clinic and increase the probability of success by simultaneously optimizing multiple drug characteristics important to both development and therapeutic benefit. With the data to train, the AI to create, and the wet lab to validate, we can screen billions of cells per week, allowing us to go from AI-designed candidates to wet lab-validated candidates in as little as six weeks. Absci's headquarters is in Vancouver, WA, with our AI Research Lab in New York City and an Innovation Center in Zug, Switzerland. Visit and follow us on LinkedIn (@absci), X (Twitter) (@Abscibio), and YouTube.

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