Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (also referred to as Amylyx, we, our or us) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company with a mission to develop and advance novel therapies for communities with high unmet medical needs. We have preclinical and clinical development programs underway in endocrine conditions and neurodegenerative diseases. We are advancing a pipeline in which we have matched investigational therapies with diseases for which we believe these therapies can make the greatest impact, based on well-defined mechanistic rationales, clear clinical outcomes and biomarkers, and rigorous preclinical data, agnostic of modality. Our current pipeline is represented in the table below.
Our lead investigational asset is avexitide, a first-in-class glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, receptor antagonist. Avexitide has been evaluated as a treatment for PBH and congenital hyperinsulinism, or Congenital HI, two indications characterized by hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, has granted avexitide Breakthrough Therapy Designation for both PBH and HI, Rare Pediatric Disease Designation in Congenital HI, and Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia.
Post-bariatric hypoglycemia (PBH) is a condition that is estimated to affect approximately 8% of people in the U.S. who have undergone the two most common types of bariatric surgery, sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (approximately 160,000 people in the U.S.). PBH is thought to be caused by an excessive glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) response leading to hypoglycemia and impaired quality of life. PBH can cause debilitating hypoglycemic events associated with inadequate supply of glucose to the brain, known as neuroglycopenia. Clinical manifestations can include impaired cognition, loss of consciousness, and seizures. PBH is also associated with a high degree of disability that can result in major disruptions to independent living. There are no approved therapies for PBH.
Avexitide is designed to bind to the GLP-1 receptor on pancreatic islet beta cells and inhibit the effect of GLP-1 to mitigate hypoglycemia by decreasing insulin secretion and stabilizing blood glucose levels.