"ABIVAX SA (the ""Company"" or ""ABIVAX"") (Euronext Paris: FR0012333284 - ABVX), an innovative biotechnology company targeting the immune system to develop new treatments for inflammatory diseases, infectious diseases and cancer, announced today that a first patient has been treated as part of the ABX464-301 program, a Phase 2a clinical study with ABX464 for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. The clinical trial was approved in the following four European countries: France, Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary. ABX464 is a drug candidate in oral adent tablet form with an innovative mechanism of action and has already demonstrated positive results in hemorrhagic rectocolitis, another chronic inflammatory disease with a biological profile closely similar to rheumatoid arthritis.

""We are delighted to initiate the first clinical trial with ABX464 in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, a therapeutic area that represents the largest market opportunity in the field of inflammatory diseases. The promising results of the Phase 2a study in hemorrhagic rectocolitis provided evidence of efficacy and demonstrated a rapid and potent anti-inflammatory effect of ABX464. In addition, its broad therapeutic potential has been observed in several preclinical inflammatory models. These results suggest that ABX464 may have significant potential as a unique and innovative anti-inflammatory drug candidate,"" said Professor Hartmut J. Ehrlich, MD and CEO of Abivax. ""ABX464's novel mechanism of action, published in Nature Scientific Reports in January 2019, illustrates how this orally administered molecule stands out and offers a mechanism of action that is potentially complementary to the anti-inflammatory agents currently marketed. »"