ChemoCentryx, Inc. announced the initiation of a phase I clinical trial of CCX832, an orally-administered small molecule that is a potent and selective inhibitor of the chemoattractant receptor, ChemR23. This receptor is known to regulate inflammatory cells in disease such as psoriasis. CCX832 is the fourth and final drug candidate discovered and developed by ChemoCentryx under the company's alliance with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to identify molecules targeting four specific chemokine and chemoattractant receptors. The initiation of this phase I clinical trial triggered a $10 million milestone payment from GSK.

“With the successful conclusion of the discovery phase of our GSK alliance, we are intensifying and expanding our efforts in our other ongoing programmes that are entirely outside the GSK alliance,” said Thomas J. Schall, PhD, president and chief executive officer of ChemoCentryx. “These programmes include a novel drug targeting the chemokine receptor CCR2, which has just successfully completed a phase II clinical trial and a cancer programme targeting the receptor CXCR7, which was discovered by ChemoCentryx scientists. In addition, we are advancing programmes in liver and kidney disease and in the next generation of medicines for inflammatory bowel disease, all of which offer vast opportunities in largely unmet medical needs.”

The ligand for ChemR23, chemerin, is a widely expressed protein that circulates in human plasma in an inactive state and becomes biologically activated in inflammatory settings. There is building evidence that suggests chemerin may serve as a biological alarm signal that, under conditions of tissue injury, recruits ChemR23-expressing immune cells. Diseases such as psoriasis are also associated with elevated levels of activated chemerin. In preclinical studies, CCX832 has demonstrated the ability to successfully block ChemR23 and interrupt the early steps associated with the development of psoriatic dermal inflammation and other inflammatory diseases.

ChemoCentryx, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing orally-administered therapeutics that target the chemokine and chemoattractant systems in order to treat autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders and cancer.