11 January 2019 - - Israeli biopharmaceutical company ChemomAb has dosed the first patient in a Phase 1b repeated dose clinical trial with CM-101 in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients, the company said.

The company's lead investigational drug candidate, CM-101, is targeting the chemokine CCL24, an important driver of fibrotic processes.

This Phase 1b clinical trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Patients will be randomised to receive doses of CM-101 or placebo for 12 weeks followed by a recovery phase.

ChemomAb is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that specializes in the development of proprietary monoclonal antibodies directed towards novel targets for the treatment of fibrotic-inflammatory disorders including NASH as well as orphan indications.

The antibodies are designed to treat patients with fibrotic and inflammatory diseases through a novel dual mechanism of action that interferes with fibrosis processes directly as well as attenuates the inflammatory process that supports the fibrotic milieu and disease progression.

The leading compound, CM-101, was selected after meticulous testing in a series of pre-clinical animal models simulating human disorders and has shown promising safety and efficacy as well as a novel mechanism of action.