Flexion’s strategy is to build a robust pipeline of locally administered therapies to address musculoskeletal conditions, with an initial focus on osteoarthritis.
FX201 is a locally administered gene therapy which is designed to stimulate the production of an anti-inflammatory protein, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), whenever inflammation is present within the joint. Inflammation is a known cause of pain, and chronic inflammation is thought to play a major role in the progression of osteoarthritis. By persistently suppressing inflammation, FX201 may both reduce pain and modify the disease. Based on strong preclinical data, a single injection of FX201 could potentially enable expression of IL-1Ra in an osteoarthritic joint for at least a year, and it may hold the potential to be disease modifying. Pending successful results from preclinical studies, Flexion aims to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in 2019.
