AnaptysBio, a privately-held therapeutic antibody company, announced the selection of a novel anti-IL17 monoclonal antibody (mAb) development candidate. The development candidate, also known as ANB004, meets stringent design goals required for differentiation against competitors on multiple key parameters.

ANB004 was generated using AnaptysBio’s proprietary SHM-XEL platform and represents AnaptysBio’s most advanced internal pipeline programme.

AnaptysBio will continue to advance preclinical development of ANB004 as best-in-class anti-IL17 mAb for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. Recent clinical data has validated the therapeutic benefit of IL17 blockade in treatment of a number of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, notably psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and uveitis. ANB004’s design goals were set by AnaptysBio to provide meaningful clinical and commercial benefit over first-generation anti-IL17 mAb competitors.

“Successful generation of a differentiated anti-IL17 antibody is a key milestone for AnaptysBio and further validates our novel SHM-XEL platform,” James Topper, chairman, said. “Our platform provides key competitive advantages in antibody optimization and discovery, enabling us to build a pipeline of antibody therapeutics with best-in-class potential.”

AnaptysBio, Inc. is a privately-held company focused on the generation of antibody therapeutics, and the leader in the use of somatic hypermutation, or SHM, for antibody discovery and optimization. SHM is the body’s natural process for generating potent antibodies.