Hong Kong-based biopharmaceutical company Akeso Inc (HK:9926) announced on Wednesday that it has received approval from China's National Medical Products Administration for the start of Phase II clinical trials of AK139, a first-in-class IL-4R alpha/ST2-targeting bispecific antibody, across seven indications.

The indications include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), severe bronchial asthma, chronic spontaneous urticaria, allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, and prurigo nodularis.

Akeso said that with these new Phase II studies, AK139 has the potential to bring its novel mechanism of action to create breakthrough therapies for multiple respiratory and autoimmune indications.

AK139 is a clinical stage bispecific antibody for autoimmune indications that was discovered using Akeso's proprietary AI-enabled drug discovery platform.