June 25, 2025 -- Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRVS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the IND application submitted by its partner in China, Angel Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Angel Pharma), has been approved by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to initiate a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of soquelitinib for the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in China.
Corvus co-founded Angel Pharma to develop its pipeline in greater China. Angel Pharma licensed the rights from Corvus to develop, manufacture and commercialize soquelitinib in greater China and is responsible for all expenses related to its development in China.
“Atopic dermatitis affects patients worldwide, including a significant number in China where treatment with biologics and other systemic therapies is growing in use,” said Richard A. Miller, M.D., co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Corvus. “Based on our clinical data to-date, we believe soquelitinib could be a compelling new treatment option for atopic dermatitis in China and globally, and we look forward to our partners at Angel Pharma exploring this potential. The Angel Phase 1b/2 trial will further expand the clinical experience with soquelitinib in atopic dermatitis, including a 12-week treatment period and a 400 mg once-daily dose. We anticipate they will begin enrolling patients in the third quarter 2025, with data from the Phase 1b portion available in 2026. In the U.S., we remain on track with the development of soquelitinib for atopic dermatitis with ongoing patient enrollment in our Phase 1 extension cohort and plans to initiate a Phase 2 trial by the end of year.”
Angel Pharma’s Phase 1b/2 clinical trial for soquelitinib in patients with atopic dermatitis will build on the data previously presented by Corvus from its ongoing Phase 1 trial by studying a longer treatment period and an additional dosing option. The Phase 1b trial will be randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled and enroll patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis as follows:
Soquelitinib Cohort 1 (24 patients) – 8 patients receive placebo, 8 patients receive soquelitinib 100 mg twice per day and 8 patients receive soquelitinib 200 mg once per day
Soquelitinib Cohort 2 (24 patients) – 8 patients receive placebo, 8 patients receive soquelitinib 200 mg twice per day and 8 patients receive soquelitinib 400 mg once per day
The treatment period will be 12 weeks
The Phase 2 trial will also be a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. It will enroll additional patients and focus on two doses that will be selected based on the safety and efficacy results from the Phase 1b trial.
The principal investigator of the Phase 1b/2 clinical trial is Yuling Shi, M.D, Ph.D. Dr. Shi is professor of dermatology, the Vice President of Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital at the Tongji University School of Medicine, and the founder and director of the Institute of Psoriasis at Tongji University School of Medicine, the first psoriasis institute in China. Dr. Shi has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, most focusing on psoriasis, skin autoimmunity, and inflammatory skin diseases.
Angel Pharmaceuticals is a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of immune modulators for cancer, autoimmune, infectious and other serious diseases in China. Angel Pharmaceuticals was launched through strategic collaboration with U.S.-based Corvus Pharmaceuticals and investments from Zhejiang Puissance Capital, Hisun Pharmaceuticals, Tigermed and funds associated with Betta Pharmaceuticals. Corvus’ ownership interest in Angel is approximately 49.7% excluding 7% of Angel Pharmaceuticals’ equity reserved for issuance under the Angel Pharmaceuticals Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Corvus Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of ITK inhibition as a new approach to immunotherapy for a broad range of cancer and immune diseases. The Company’s lead product candidate is soquelitinib, an investigational, oral, small molecule drug that selectively inhibits ITK. Its other clinical-stage candidates are being developed for a variety of cancer indications.
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