Pipeline Overview

Lupus Nephritis (LN) is a severe progression of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) where the immune system attacks the kidneys, often resulting in renal failure. There is currently no cure or long-term remission treatment available. Lupus Nephritis is clinically evident in 50-60% of patients with SLE, and is histologically evident in most SLE patients, even those without clinical manifestations of kidney disease. LN is the main cause of SLE related mortality. Current therapy is based on long-term corticosteroid or immunosuppressive therapy, with clinical efficacy of biological drugs not yet proven in LN. Side effect issues of all current therapies demonstrate an unmet need for a safer, patient compliant therapy in LN. Conduit believe that LN presents a lucrative opportunity given the potential oversight of two conditions.

ANCA Vasculitis (AAV) is an orphan status autoimmune disease affecting small blood vessels which can lead to multiple organ injury, especially the kidneys, lungs and peripheral nerves. Undiagnosed AAV has a 90% mortality rate within 2 years. Current maintenance therapies rely on combination of corticosteroid and rituximab, both known for long term use side effects. Recently approved drugs target specific subpopulations of AAV and have tolerability and side effect issues which demonstrate an unmet need for safer long-term therapies applicable to all AAV sufferers.

CDT1656 combines AZD1656 with a second compound whose mechanism of action plays a critical role in the progression of autoimmune disorders. This combination has potential for treating diseases and conditions characterized by autoimmune and chronic inflammatory responses, particularly those associated with a dysregulated T cell response.
Phase: in between Phase I and Phase II (same as AZD5658).

Idiopathic Male Infertility (“IMI”) is defined as failure of a couple to conceive after one year of regular sexual intercourse where the physical examination and endocrine laboratory testing of the male are normal, but semen analysis reveals sperm abnormalities. Approximately 15% of couples globally, or 48.5 million couples globally, are infertile and that 30% of infertility cases can be attributed solely to the female, 30% can be attributed solely to the male, 30% can be attributed to a combination of both partners, and 10% of cases have an unknown cause. Our development pipeline for AZD5904 includes a potent, irreversible inhibitor of human myeloperoxidase, which we refer to as MPO, that has the potential to treat IMI. AZD5904 was investigated by AstraZeneca for the treatment of idiopathic male infertility in Phase I trials, which confirmed the suitability to progress to Phase II trials. While AZD 5904 is Phase II ready, Conduit intends to conduct a Phase Ib “proof of mechanism” trial to verify AZD5904 has the intended biological effect in semen (as well as in blood) prior to commencing a Phase II trial for the use of AZD5904 to treat IMI. Specifically, Conduit intends to conduct the Phase Ib study in order to see if the trial will provide evidence that AZD5904 has its intended effect of inhibiting myeloperoxidase and reduce oxidative stress in semen. We believe that AZD5904 has the potential to be used to create a tablet that could treat IMI and would be the first drug developed to directly treat IMI.