EGPA is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in the small blood vessels. It can cause tissue and organ damage to the lungs, sinuses, peripheral nerves, skin, and kidneys. The cause of EGPA is unknown.
It is estimated that EGPA affects between 5,600 and 14,500 people in the United States.* Most people with EGPA are not diagnosed until their late 40s or early 50s.
Early symptoms of EGPA include bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis. Other common symptoms of EGPA include feeling frequently ill and tired, loss of appetite resulting in weight loss, fever, and a higher-than-normal level of eosinophils – a type of white blood cell.
Depending on the organ(s) affected, other symptoms of EGPA can include shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain, skin rashes, muscle pain, joint pain, nasal discharge, facial pain, abdominal pain or bloody stools, numbness or loss of strength, tingling in hands and feet, and kidney disease.
Non-severe EGPA can be treated with steroids and other drugs that suppress the immune system’s response. More severe cases are treated with steroids in combination with cyclophosphamide, a cytotoxic agent, or rituximab, a biologic agent, depending on the level of severity.
NS Pharma is currently developing a treatment for EGPA via JAK1 protein inhibition (NS-229).
NS-229 uses potent JAK1 inhibitory activity and potentially suppresses activation of eosinophils, T cells, and B cells by inhibiting various cytokine signaling through JAK1 inhibition.
i https://www.vasculitisfoundation.org/education/vasculitis-types/eosinophilic-granulomatosis-with-polyangiitis/
ii https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28881446/
iii https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/clinical-and-economic-characteristics-of-patients-diagnosed-with-eosinophilic-granulomatosis-with-polyangiitis-egpa-formerly-churg-strauss-syndrome-in-the-united-states/
