The preclinical pharmacology of the high affinity anti-IL-6R Nanobody® ALX-0061 supports its clinical development in rheumatoid arthritis

Over the last decade, there has been a shift in treatment outcomes for RA; moving from symptom control to achieving remission. The TNF inhibitors have revolutionised treatment in this way, yet there is still a proportion of patients who fail to improve or reach remission. As such, new molecules for the treatment of RA are needed to be developed.This study investigates the in vitro and in vivo properties of ALX-0061, a bispecific Nanobody with a high affinity and potency for IL-6R.Positive pharmacological in vitro results were confirmed in non-human in vivo studies, supporting the clinical development of ALX-0061 in RA.