Exciting time for UCB ahead of bimekizumab read-outs, says Emmanuel Caeymaex

For Belgium-based drugmaker UCB (Euronext: UCB), EULAR 2019 came at a good time to shed further new light on bimekizumab – which the company itself is billing as its pipeline molecule – in a couple of the indications in which it is showing significant promise.

The Phase IIb BE AGILE study in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) showed that the drug delivered improvements in disease activity and in important patient-reported outcomes, such as pain, fatigue, morning stiffness, function and quality of life.

These improvements, which occurred at different doses, are hypothesized to be associated with bimekizumab’s mechanism of action, which potently and selectively neutralizes both interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-17F cytokines.