Immunomodulation without immunosuppression
Resetting the immune system to restore healthy responses
Artax Biopharma is a Phase 2 clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the development of safe and effective treatments for autoimmune diseases. Rather than suppressing or blocking the immune response, our approach focuses on modulating T cell activation through Signal 1 to prevent self-activation without causing immune suppression.
We have a pipeline of first-in-class, fully proprietary Nck modulator candidates. Our lead program AX-158 showed compelling biomarker and clinical data in psoriasis patients in Phase 2a. We are planning additional Phase 2 clinical trials with AX-158 in atopic dermatitis and rheumatoid arthritis as we work to accelerate efforts to deliver Nck modulators to patients.
Latest news and publications
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Treating the Untreatable in Rheumatoid Arthritis! Rob Armstrong, CEO, Artax Biopharma
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Shifting Focus in Autoimmune Diseases
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- Scientific Publications
Evaluation of AX-158, a first-in-class Nck modulator, in patients with mild-to-moderate plaque psoriasis
D. Scott Batty, Jr., MD1*, Christopher VanDeusen, PhD1, Sandra Garcet, PhD2, James G. Krueger, MD…
Signal 1 Activation
Nck modulators: a new class of autoimmune disease treatment
A healthy immune system eliminates harmful foreign pathogens, while being tolerant of self-tissues and organs. When the immune system malfunctions and T cell activation becomes dysregulated, T cells behave abnormally, attacking a patient’s own tissues and organs, resulting in autoimmune and other T cell mediated diseases.
Artax Biopharma is developing first-in-class, oral small molecules that inhibit Nck binding to the TCR at the headwaters of T cell activation. Our Nck modulator candidates aim to assist the immune system to deliver an appropriate, balanced response, eliminating a direct cause of T cell mediated diseases, while preserving patients’ ability to fight foreign pathogens properly.
Building a valuable pipeline in key autoimmune indications
Targeted modulation of the T cell receptor, which drives Signal 1 activation, forms the core of everything we do at Artax Biopharma. We develop candidates that prevent Nck recruitment to the TCR on antigen binding, thereby preventing inappropriate T cell activation by self-antigens, resulting in a rebalancing of the immune response without causing immunosuppression.
Data to date for our lead candidate, AX-158, indicate a promising tolerability profile with the potential to address a wide range of autoimmune diseases. We reported results from a Phase 2a psoriasis trial with AX-158 in early 2025 and are currently planning Phase 2 trials with AX-158 in atopic dermatitis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Led by a highly experienced management team
We brought together deeply experienced leaders in the field of immunomodulation to realize the full potential of our first-in-class pipeline.