Houston, TX, Apr 24, 2025 - (ACN Newswire) - Coya Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: COYA) (“Coya” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing biologics intended to enhance regulatory T cell (Treg) function announced positive interim results of an investigator-initiated proof of concept open-label study with low-dose IL-2 and CTLA4-Ig combination treatment in patients with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). The study is led by Dr. Alireza Faridar and Dr. Stanley Appel at the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute (Houston, TX) with funding from The Peggy and Gary Edwards Endowment Fund. Study patients received subcutaneously administered CTLA4-Ig, followed by a 5-day course of low-dose IL-2 every four weeks, for a total of 22 weeks of dosing and follow-up. The study aims to enroll up to 10 patients, and these interim results include data from the first 5 patients with mild to moderate FTD who have completed the full course of treatment.Dr. Arun Swaminathan, Coya’s Chief Executive Officer followed: “The results thus far are consistent with previously published encouraging data from an open-label investigator-initiated study of patients with ALS treated with low-dose IL-2/CTLA4-Ig. This interim data in FTD provides us further confidence of our approach to target and enhance Treg biology to address devastating neurodegenerative diseases including ALS and FTD”.
Previous biomarker data presented by the Company demonstrated that FTD patients exhibit a compromised immunosuppressive function of regulatory T cells (Tregs), along with increased peripheral levels of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, dysregulation of monocytes, and systemic activation of the inflammatory cascade, supporting the critical role of the immune system in the pathophysiology of FTD.
One previous study showed that a cohort of 68 patients with FTD worsened by an average of 3.57 points over a 12-month period per the Clinical Dementia Rating - Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (CDR-FTLD) scale (Knopman et al. Brain 2008; 131(11): 2957-2968). In addition, patients with FTD typically have shorter survival times and more rapid rates of cognitive and functional decline compared to patients with Alzheimer’s disease (Rascovsky et al. Neurology 2005; 65(3): 397-403).
Dr. Fred Grossman, Coya’s Chief Medical Officer stated: “We are excited with the results observed in this initial group of patients with this proof-of-concept study. We believe that the increase in Treg numbers and suppressive function, with subsequent anti-inflammatory biological activity still to be evaluated, underscores the potential for this low-dose IL-2/CTLA4-Ig combination to be further studied as a therapy for FTD, for which there are no currently approved treatments.”
Summary of Interim Study Results
Overall, treatment with low-dose IL-2 and CTLA4-Ig was well tolerated. All 5 patients enrolled in the first cohort completed the study and received the investigational treatment as planned. The most common adverse events were mild injection site reactions. No serious adverse events were reported.
Treg numbers and suppressive function increased after the first treatment cycle (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively, and remained at higher significant levels throughout the treatment period.
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