InflaRx Reports Favorable Reactive Metabolite Profile for Izicopan in Human Liver Microsomes

JENA, Germany, May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InflaRx N.V. (Nasdaq: IFRX), a biopharmaceutical company pioneering anti-inflammatory therapeutics by targeting the complement system, today announced new pre-clinical data demonstrating low reactive metabolite formation of izicopan in human liver microsomes. Reactive metabolite formation is widely used in drug development as an early mechanistic indicator of potential bioactivation-related safety risk.

Izicopan is an investigational next-generation oral C5aR1 inhibitor designed to achieve differentiated pharmacological properties, with the potential for improved efficacy and safety. The marketed comparator, avacopan, is a first-in-class oral C5a receptor 1 (C5aR1) inhibitor approved for the treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis.

In a head-to-head in vitro study using a standard glutathione (GSH) trapping assay in human liver microsomes (10 µM; 0–40 minute incubation), izicopan demonstrated minimal reactive metabolite formation, with conjugate remaining low throughout the incubation period. These findings support a low level of bioactivation in this assay system.

Under the same experimental conditions, avacopan showed higher levels of thiol adducts, including both glutathione and downstream cysteine conjugates, consistent with more extensive oxidative bioactivation. Differences in total reactive conjugate peak areas were most pronounced at early time points (exceeding 100-fold at 5 and 10 minutes) and remained observable over the course of the assay (approximately 10-fold at 20 and 40 minutes). Overall, these results suggest a lower extent of reactive intermediate formation for izicopan in this experimental setting. While in vitro findings do not directly predict clinical outcomes, InflaRx believes these results support the differentiated profile of izicopan.

Prof. Renfeng Guo, Chief Scientific Officer and Founder of InflaRx, commented: “These data provide additional insight into the mechanistic profile of izicopan. We believe that, if supported by clinical data, such properties may contribute to its overall differentiation within the C5aR inhibitor class.”

About izicopan
Izicopan is an orally administered, small molecule inhibitor of the C5a receptor C5aR1 that has shown anti-inflammatory therapeutic effects in several pre-clinical disease models and in human studies. Further, in contrast to the marketed C5aR inhibitor, in vitro experiments demonstrated that izicopan does not inhibit the cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) enzyme, which plays an important role in the metabolism of a variety of metabolites and drugs, including glucocorticoids. Reported results from a first-in-human study demonstrated that izicopan was well tolerated in treated subjects and exhibited no safety signals of concern in single doses ranging from 3 mg to 240 mg or multiple doses ranging from 30 mg once per day to 90 mg twice per day for 14 days. Pharmacokinetic / pharmacodynamic data support the best-in-class potential of izicopan, with a ≥90% blockade of C5a-induced neutrophil activation achieved over the 14-day dosing period. Topline Phase 2a data further support the safety profile of izicopan, with no reported safety signals of concern. In patients with hidradenitis suppurativa, over 4 weeks of therapy, izicopan provided rapid and clinically meaningful reductions in abscesses and nodules (ANs) and draining tunnels (dTs), robust HiSCR responses that continued to deepen four weeks after the treatment period, and substantial reductions in patient-reported pain scores, overall demonstrating the potential for biologic-like efficacy. In chronic spontaneous urticaria, InflaRx observed substantial reductions in the 7-day Urticaria Activity Score (UAS7) broadly across patients and particularly in those with severe disease, as well as improved disease control as measured by the Urticaria Control Test (UCT7).

About InflaRx N.V.
InflaRx (Nasdaq: IFRX) is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering anti-inflammatory therapeutics by applying its proprietary anti-C5a and anti-C5aR technologies to discover, develop and commercialize highly potent and specific inhibitors of the complement activation factor C5a and its receptor, C5aR. C5a is a powerful inflammatory mediator involved in the progression of a wide variety of inflammatory diseases. InflaRx‘s lead program is izicopan, an orally administered small molecule inhibitor of C5a-induced signaling via the C5a receptor, which has shown promising PK/PD characteristics as well as therapeutic potential in Phase 1 and Phase 2a clinical studies. The Company is developing izicopan for the treatment of several inflammatory diseases, including hidradenitis suppurativa. InflaRx also has developed vilobelimab, a novel, intravenously delivered, first-in-class, anti-C5a monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to free C5a and has demonstrated disease-modifying clinical activity and tolerability in multiple clinical studies.

InflaRx was founded in 2007, and the group has offices and subsidiaries in Jena and Munich, Germany, as well as Ann Arbor, MI, USA. For further information, please visit www.inflarx.de. InflaRx GmbH (Germany) and InflaRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (USA) are wholly owned subsidiaries of InflaRx N.V. (together, InflaRx).

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
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