BEVERLY, Mass., July 7, 2026
Akston Biosciences Corporation has announced encouraging preclinical data demonstrating that its investigational NGF-targeting Ambifect® immunotherapeutic candidates, AKS-548d and AKS-734, produced clinically meaningful reductions in canine osteoarthritis pain and significant improvements in mobility and function in a randomized head-to-head study against bedinvetmab (Librela™), the currently marketed anti-NGF therapy for dogs. The findings were presented at the 2026 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) Forum and highlight the potential of Akston’s proprietary Ambifect® Fc-fusion platform to provide durable pain relief through sustained endogenous antibody production. The study represents an important milestone in the company’s efforts to develop innovative, longer-lasting immunotherapies that may reduce treatment burden for veterinarians, pet owners, and companion animals affected by chronic canine osteoarthritis, one of the most common degenerative joint diseases in aging dogs.
Ambifect® Candidates Deliver Durable Pain Relief
The exploratory randomized study evaluated AKS-548d, AKS-734, and bedinvetmab in dogs with radiographically confirmed osteoarthritis and measurable osteoarthritis-associated pain. Results demonstrated that both investigational candidates achieved reductions in modified Canine Brief Pain Inventory (mCBPI) pain scores, improvements in mobility, and better orthopedic assessment outcomes that were generally consistent with those observed using bedinvetmab. Importantly, AKS-548d and AKS-734 stimulated sustained endogenous anti-NGF antibody production, resulting in functional neutralization of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF)-TrkA signaling, a biologically validated pathway responsible for transmitting chronic osteoarthritis pain.
In a supplemental durability cohort, AKS-548d maintained detectable anti-NGF antibody responses for approximately 120 days, supporting future investigation of significantly extended dosing intervals compared with existing monthly therapies. Unlike conventional monoclonal antibody treatments requiring repeated administration, Akston’s Ambifect® platform leverages the animal’s immune system to generate durable therapeutic antibody responses, potentially simplifying long-term disease management.
Well-Tolerated Therapy Supports Future Veterinary Development
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Both investigational therapies demonstrated a favorable safety profile, with no treatment-related serious adverse events, no clinically meaningful abnormalities in hematology or clinical chemistry parameters, and stable body weight throughout the study period. Mild-to-moderate injection-site reactions were observed across treatment groups but decreased following repeated dosing and resolved without significant complications. According to Akston, these findings reinforce the potential of the Ambifect® platform to provide effective, durable, and practical treatment options for chronic canine osteoarthritis while reducing the frequency of veterinary visits. The company believes that fixed-dose administration, enabled by immune responses that naturally scale with body size, could eliminate the complexity of weight-based dosing currently required for anti-NGF monoclonal antibody therapies.
Canine osteoarthritis remains a progressive condition that significantly impacts mobility, quality of life, and long-term health in millions of companion animals worldwide, making innovative treatment approaches increasingly important. Akston plans to advance AKS-548d and AKS-734 into larger placebo-controlled clinical studies involving client-owned dogs to further evaluate safety, efficacy, durability, and the feasibility of twice-yearly dosing. The positive head-to-head study results provide strong scientific support for continued clinical development of Akston’s next-generation immunotherapeutic platform and highlight its potential to transform long-term management of canine osteoarthritis through durable immune-mediated NGF neutralization and reduced treatment burden.
Source: Akston Biosciences press release
