Abivax Presents First Anti-Fibrotic Evidence for Obefazimod at ECCO 2026
Abivax announced novel preclinical and clinical data for obefazimod at ECCO 2026, highlighting anti-fibrotic potential in Crohn's disease, favorable safety profile, and rapid onset of symptomatic relief in inflammatory bowel disease patients.
Abivax SA (Euronext Paris: FR0012333284 – ABVX / Nasdaq: ABVX) announced novel preclinical and clinical data for obefazimod at The European Crohn's and Colitis Organization's (ECCO) 21st Annual Congress on February 21, 2026. The data expand the evidence base supporting development of obefazimod for inflammatory bowel disease, highlighting its anti-fibrotic potential in Crohn's disease (CD), a favorable safety and tolerability profile, rapid onset of symptomatic relief, and additional evidence supporting its mechanism of action in restoring immune balance through upregulation of miR-124.
At ECCO 2026, Abivax presented the first evidence of obefazimod achieving approximately 50% reduction in the active fibrosis biomarker (Pro-C3) in a preclinical human fibroblast model. The emerging preclinical evidence of anti-fibrotic activity is particularly compelling, as fibrosis remains an area of profound unmet need.
Safety data from the ABTECT-1 and ABTECT-2 induction trials involving 1,272 patients showed that the rates of serious treatment-emergent adverse events for obefazimod were comparable to placebo at 3.1% and 3.2%, respectively, demonstrating a favorable safety and tolerability profile.
In pooled analyses from ABTECT-1 and ABTECT-2, symptomatic responses were observed as early as week 1, with significant remission by week 2 (p-value <0.05), indicating the potential for rapid onset of relief. Biomarker data from ABTECT-1 and ABTECT-2 induction trials indicate upregulation of miR-124 and reduction of key inflammatory cytokines (IL-17A and IL-6), further supporting its role in restoring immune balance.
The 22 abstracts presented at ECCO 2026, including subgroup analyses from the Phase 3 ABTECT induction trials illustrating obefazimod's clinical activity across a wide range of patient subpopulations, can be accessed at: https://www.abivax.com/publications/congress-publications
The company is focused on the upcoming Phase 3 maintenance trial readout in Q2 2026 and the Phase 2b ENHANCE-CD trial readout in Q4 2026.
Abivax is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics that harness the body's natural regulatory mechanisms to stabilize the immune response in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases. Based in France and the United States, Abivax's lead drug candidate, obefazimod (ABX464), is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis.