Abivax SA is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative treatments that harness the body’s natural regulatory mechanisms to modulate the immune response in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases.
Abivax has a program in clinical development with its lead drug candidate, obefazimod (formerly ABX464), to treat ulcerative colitis. Another program in Crohn’s disease is also in preparation and other potential inflammatory indications are being evaluated.
The company’s headquarters are based in Paris, France with a US office in Waltham, Massachusetts. Abivax’s Research and development work is conducted at its research center based in Montpellier, France.
History
Founded in 2013 in Paris, by the French immunologist Philippe Pouletty.
In 2015, Abivax launched its initial public offering on the stock market Euronext in Paris, raising EUR 57.7m, a record amount for a French biotechnology company on the Euronext in Paris.
In October 2023, Abivax launched its initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Market in the US, raising EUR 232.3m, the largest ever US IPO of a French listed biotech.
Initially, Abivax focused on the development of a novel treatment in HIV with lead drug candidate obefazimod. As the molecule showed a strong anti-inflammatory effect in preclinical models, Abivax decided to conduct a Phase 2a clinical study in ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Based on the promising results of this clinical study in ulcerative colitis, the company decided to shift its focus towards the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases.