MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (‘MoonLake’) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, focused on developing medicines for inflammatory diseases. The Company was founded in 2021 when Sonelokimab was in-licensed from Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany.[1][2][3] The initial investors were BVF Partners LP, Merck KGaA, Florian Schönharting, Simon Sturge, Arnout Ploos van Amstel, Dr. Jorge Santos da Silva, and Dr. Kristian Reich.[4][5][6]
Sonelokimab is an investigational Nanobody designed to treat inflammatory diseases by inhibiting the naturally occurring IL-17A/A, IL-17A/F, and IL-17F/F dimers that drive inflammation. In addition, Sonelokimab is designed to target inflammation sites directly and, due to its smaller size compared to typical monoclonal antibodies, potentially offers better tissue penetration.[7][8]
In May 2021, positive results of a Phase IIb trial of Sonelokimab for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis were published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, The Lancet.[8][9]
MoonLake is progressing the clinical development of Sonelokimab for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including hidradenitis suppurativa[10] and psoriatic arthritis.[11]
In April 2022, MoonLake combined with Helix Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition vehicle, becoming a Nasdaq-listed company with the ticker symbol MLTX.[12][13][14]
References[edit]
- ^ "ZefixWebApp". www.zefix.ch.
- ^ "Merck Statement on the Out-licensing Agreement for Investigational sonelokimab (M1095)".
- ^ "MoonLake debuts with Cosentyx challenger from Merck KGaA | Fierce Biotech".
- ^ "XBRL Viewer". www.sec.gov.
- ^ "sec.gov, prelim. proxy statement".
- ^ "Inside MoonLake's raid on Merck KGaA's inflammatory disease hopeful sonelokimab". pharmaphorum.
- ^ Iznardo, H. (12 August 2021). "Dual inhibition of IL-17A and IL-17F in psoriatic disease". Therapeutic Advances in Chronic Disease. 12. doi:10.1177/20406223211037846. PMC 8366125. PMID 34408825.
- ^ a b "Sonelokimab shows promise in Phase II psoriasis trial".
- ^ Papp, K.A. (2021). "IL17A/F nanobody sonelokimab in patients with plaque psoriasis: a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 2b study". The Lancet. 397 (10284): 1564–1575. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00440-2. PMID 33894834.
- ^ "Evaluation of Sonelokimab for the Treatment of Patients With Active Moderate to Severe Hidradenitis Suppurativa". 13 November 2023.
- ^ "Evaluation of Sonelokimab for the Treatment of Patients With Active Psoriatic Arthritis". 15 November 2023.
- ^ "MoonLake Immunotherapeutics AG announces closing business".
- ^ "Nasdaq: MoonLake Immunotherapeutics Class A Ordinary Shares".
- ^ "MoonLake over the moon with $230M SPAC deal for llama antibodies to challenge Novartis' Cosentyx | Fierce Biotech".