Anaptysbio Inc. announced in September of 2025 that it planned to separate its drug development business from the royalties it receives on Jemperli (dostarlimab) from GSK plc and imsidolimab from Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. Just seven months later, on April 20, 2026, well ahead of its “year-end 2026” goal, First Tracks Biotherapeutics Inc., the drug development arm of the company, started trading as a standalone company on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol TRAX.
CD122 – shared beta subunit of the IL-15 and IL-2 receptors, two targets for the figurative price of one – has drawn the eyes of many drug developers, among them Anaptysbio Inc., which will roll out phase Ib results in celiac disease during the fourth quarter of this year with ANB-033. The San Diego-based firm intends to weigh the candidate in a second inflammatory disease. A phase Ib study with ANB-033 in eosinophilic esophagitis will begin this quarter.
Anaptysbio Inc. said it intends to split into two publicly traded companies – one for developing a pipeline, the other for managing royalties – each with its own business model. The royalty company will hold and manage the rights to big-earning Jemperli (dostarlimab) royalties from collaborator GSK plc, along with imsidolimab milestones and royalties from Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Disappointing readouts from separate phase II studies in atopic dermatitis sank shares of Q32 Bio Inc. and Anaptysbio Inc., as their respective antibody candidates failed to impress in a highly competitive space.
Eli Lilly and Co.’s chief scientific officer, Daniel Skovronsky, called peresolimab, the PD-1 agonist previously in the works by the firm for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a “really interesting mechanism” – but not interesting enough.
Atopic dermatitis is a systemic inflammatory disorder where both innate immune cells such as dendritic cells (DCs) and adaptive immune cells, such as B and T cells, contribute to cutaneous inflammation. B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA), highly expressed in mature DCs, is crucial to modulate the activity of all immune cells and acts as a co-inhibitory checkpoint receptor.
Gilead Sciences Inc. is aiming to capitalize on the early August 2022 buyout of privately held U.K. biotech Mirobio Ltd. with the advancement of PD-1 agonist GS-0151 into phase Ib trials for rheumatoid arthritis, a decision that Leerink analyst David Risinger hailed as positive for others at work with the intriguing mechanism. Paying $405 million for Oxford-based Mirobio, Gilead took ownership of the firm’s checkpoint agonists to treat autoimmune diseases.
Anaptysbio Inc. has signed an exclusive license agreement for Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc’s blood dendritic cell antigen 2 (BDCA-2) modulator antibody portfolio, including lead asset CBS-004 (to be renamed ANB-101) and related family of backup antibodies, for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
In what TD Cowen analyst Joseph Thome called an “upside surprise,” Anaptysbio Inc. reported positive top-line data from its phase III Gemini-1 study of imsidolimab, a monoclonal antibody designed to inhibit the interleukin-36 receptor, in patients with generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP), positioning the firm for a potentially productive out-licensing deal.
About two months ahead of the planned PDUFA date, the U.S. FDA has granted expanded approval of PD-1 antibody Jemperli (dostarlimab) from partners Anaptysbio Inc. and GSK plc for use in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy. GSK said the drug would be the only frontline immuno-oncology treatment for endometrial cancer available in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel. The supporting supplemental BLA for the expanded indication previously received priority review.
