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 activation at the T cell receptor. This prevents 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, in addition to convincing preclinical and Phase 1 data packages. We anticipate initiation of Phase 2 clinical trials with AX-158 in atopic dermatitis and at least one additional autoimmune indication in 2025, as we accelerate efforts to deliver Nck modulators to patients.
Latest news and publications
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- Media
Artax Biopharma’s AX-158: A Novel Approach to T Cell-Driven Inflammation in Psoriasis
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- Press Releases
Artax Biopharma presents Phase 2a results for oral Nck modulator AX-158 in late-breaking session at the Society for Investigative Dermatology 2025 Annual Meeting
First small molecule to modulate the fundamental mechanism ofT cell activation underlying autoimmune pathology Statistically… -
- Scientific Publications
AX-158 Proof-of-Mechanism Safety Study: Evaluating a Novel T cell Receptor (TCR)
Signal Modulator in Patients with Mild-to-Moderate Plaque Psoriasis
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 the T cell receptor (TCR) and recognition become 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. Our Nck modulator candidates aim to assist the immune system in maintaining healthy control, eliminating a direct cause of T cell mediated diseases, while preserving patients’ ability to fight foreign pathogens properly. We believe our innovative approach to immunomodulation holds great potential, especially following clinical validation of AX-158 in Phase 2a in psoriasis patients.
Building a valuable pipeline in key autoimmune indications
Targeted modulation of the T cell receptor (TCR) activation forms the core of everything we do at Artax Biopharma. We develop candidates that prevent Nck recruitment upon TCR activation, thereby preventing inappropriate activation by self-antigens, resulting in a rebalancing of the immune response without causing immunosuppression. Our lead candidate, AX-158, was evaluated in psoriasis patients and represents the pioneering drug in a novel class, Nck modulators, designed to block Nck recruitment to the T cell receptor. Data obtained to date in our pre-clinical, Phase 1, and Phase 2a studies indicate that AX-158 has 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 we plan to initiate Phase 2 trials with AX-158 in atopic dermatitis and at least one additional autoimmune indication later this year.
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.