SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Maze Therapeutics, a company translating genetic insights into new precision medicines, today announced findings from preclinical studies demonstrating the potential of a novel APOL1 inhibitor to reverse disease manifestations of APOL1 kidney disease in a chronic APOL1 kidney disease mouse model. The data are being presented today during a poster session at the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 2023 in Philadelphia.
“We are pleased to present these new data from our APOL1 inhibitor program for kidney disease that show for the first time the ability of our potential medicine to reverse disease manifestations, including albuminuria, biomarkers of kidney injury, and pathological glomerulosclerosis, in a chronic mouse model,” said Harold Bernstein, M.D., Ph.D., president, research and development, and chief medical officer of Maze. “Leveraging our Maze Compass™ platform, our scientists have been able to uncover a more robust understanding of APOL1 kidney disease that gives us confidence in our approach to inhibiting APOL1 with an oral, small molecule. We plan to take development candidate MZE829 into the clinic later this year.”
Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) is a protein encoded by the APOL1 gene in humans. Genetic variants of the gene (G1 and G2) are associated with increased risk for a spectrum of progressive kidney diseases in people of African ancestry. Through insights generated with the company’s proprietary, purpose-built platform, Maze Compass™, Maze scientists have identified and are advancing a small molecule APOL1 inhibitor program toward the clinic. Previous studies have shown that inhibition of APOL1 pore function ameliorates albuminuria in an acute model of APOL kidney disease, with today’s findings extending this understanding in a preclinical chronic model of APOL1 kidney disease and demonstrating improvement in the associated tissue pathology.
Based on these findings, Maze plans to evaluate development candidate MZE829 as a treatment for APOL1 kidney disease with a Phase 1 healthy volunteer trial expected to begin by the end of 2023.
Presentation Details
Poster Title: Small molecule inhibition of APOL1 reverses albuminuria in a chronic mouse model of APOL1-mediated kidney disease
Poster Board #: SA-PO788
Session Title: Genetic Diseases: Glomerulopathies - II [PO1202-3]
Session Date, Time: November 4, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET
About Maze Therapeutics
Maze Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company harnessing the power of human genetics to transform the lives of patients. The Company is committed to developing breakthrough precision medicines for common diseases with large unmet medical needs. Maze has developed Maze Compass™, a proprietary, purpose-built platform to leverage genetic variation and integrate the critical step of variant functionalization into each stage of therapeutic development. Utilizing Maze Compass, the Company’s strategy is to develop its therapies independently, in collaboration with major pharmaceutical companies, and through company formation. For more information, please visit mazetx.com, or follow us on LinkedIn and X. (formerly Twitter).
