Yuhan Corporation announced on the 15th that in a Phase 1b clinical trial of its candidate drug for allergic diseases, “Lecigercept,” it confirmed the safety of repeated administration and the sustainability of its inhibitory effect on allergic reactions.

Yuhan Corporation presented the results of the Phase 1b clinical trial of Lecigercept at the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) 2026 Annual Congress held in Istanbul, Türkiye.

Lecigercept is described as a long-acting new drug candidate designed to neutralize immunoglobulin E, an antibody that triggers allergic reactions. It works by blocking the action of substances in the blood that cause allergic inflammatory responses.

The trial was conducted with a total of 46 participants to evaluate the safety and tolerability of repeated administration of Lecigercept, as well as its pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic characteristics in the body.

Cohorts 1–4 included healthy adults with atopic predisposition and patients with allergic diseases. Cohort 5 consisted of patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.

According to the clinical results, there were no participants who discontinued the trial due to adverse events despite repeated administration, and no serious adverse events related to the drug were reported.

As the dose increased, systemic exposure to the drug also increased. Bloodborne substances that induce allergic reactions decreased in a dose-dependent manner, and the inhibitory effect tended to be maintained for a longer period, according to the company.

In particular, in Cohort 3, which enrolled participants with high levels of allergy-related markers, the median duration during which the blood concentration of the relevant substance was maintained below a certain threshold was 15 days in the Lecigercept group. In the placebo group and the group receiving the existing treatment omalizumab, this figure was reported as 0 days, respectively.

Yuhan Corporation assessed these results as indicating the potential for a sustained inhibitory effect of Lecigercept even in patients with high allergy-related marker levels.

The company added that the findings are consistent with the safety and pharmacodynamic profile observed in the earlier Phase 1a trial and the exploratory, proof‑of‑concept Phase 1b trial in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria.

However, this trial was an early-stage clinical study focused on safety and pharmacologic action in the body. Actual symptom improvement and superiority over existing therapies must be further verified through ongoing follow‑up clinical trials.

Kim Yeol‑Hong, head of research and development at Yuhan Corporation, said, “Even under repeated dosing conditions, Lecigercept showed a favorable safety profile, and it demonstrated the potential to more rapidly and durably suppress substances that induce allergic reactions compared with existing therapies,” adding, “Through the ongoing global Phase 2 trial and others, we plan to continuously evaluate its therapeutic potential across a range of allergic diseases.”

Lecigercept is a new drug candidate that Yuhan Corporation in-licensed from GI Innovation in July 2020. The two companies are jointly conducting research and development, and Yuhan Corporation holds the global commercialization rights excluding Japan.

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