TEL AVIV, Israel, July 7, 2026
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has announced plans to advance its investigational anti-interleukin-15 (IL-15) monoclonal antibody, TEV-408, into Phase 2b clinical development for the treatment of non-segmental vitiligo (NSV) following encouraging Phase 1b clinical trial results. The investigational therapy, discovered by Teva, is designed for convenient quarterly (every 12 weeks) subcutaneous dosing and targets IL-15, a key immune pathway involved in the destruction of melanocytes responsible for skin pigmentation in vitiligo. The Phase 1b study demonstrated meaningful improvements in skin repigmentation, strong patient-reported outcomes, and a favorable safety profile with no significant safety signals observed to date, reinforcing confidence in IL-15 inhibition as a promising therapeutic strategy for autoimmune skin disease. The decision to advance TEV-408 into a larger Phase 2b trial represents an important milestone in Teva’s expanding immunology pipeline and reflects the company’s continued commitment to developing innovative biologic therapies addressing significant unmet medical needs.
Phase 1b Study Demonstrates Encouraging Repigmentation and Safety Profile
The ongoing open-label Phase 1b clinical study enrolled adults with active or stable non-segmental vitiligo, many of whom had extensive disease affecting more than 10% of total body surface area, representing a patient population with limited treatment options. Participants received two subcutaneous doses of TEV-408 administered 12 weeks apart, with efficacy evaluated at Week 24 using the Vitiligo Area Scoring Index (VASI). Clinical findings showed that nearly 75% of patients reported improvement in facial vitiligo, while half of participants described their improvement as “much” or “very much” better.
In addition, 42% achieved at least a 50% improvement in facial vitiligo severity (F-VASI50), 21% achieved F-VASI75, and 55% reported improvement in total body vitiligo, demonstrating clinically meaningful repigmentation across multiple efficacy measures. Importantly, TEV-408 was well tolerated throughout the study, with investigators reporting no safety signals and an overall safety profile supportive of continued clinical development. These encouraging results strengthen the scientific rationale for targeting IL-15, a cytokine recognized as a central driver of autoimmune destruction of pigment-producing melanocytes.
Innovative IL-15 Therapy Expands Teva’s Immunology Pipeline
Advertisement
Vitiligo is a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting millions of people worldwide, causing progressive loss of skin pigmentation and often leading to significant psychological, emotional, and social challenges. Despite recent therapeutic advances, treatment options remain limited, particularly for patients with extensive disease requiring systemic therapy. TEV-408 is a high-affinity, human monoclonal antibody specifically designed to block IL-15 signaling while offering a convenient quarterly dosing schedule, potentially providing durable disease control with fewer treatment administrations compared with existing therapies. In addition to vitiligo, TEV-408 is also being evaluated in Phase 2a clinical development for celiac disease, where it previously received FDA Fast Track Designation, highlighting the broader therapeutic potential of IL-15 inhibition across immune-mediated diseases.
Teva also recently secured up to $500 million in strategic research and development funding through its agreement with Royalty Pharma to accelerate the global clinical development of TEV-408, including the planned Phase 2b vitiligo study. If future clinical trials confirm these promising early findings, TEV-408 could emerge as a differentiated systemic treatment capable of delivering meaningful and durable repigmentation while improving convenience through quarterly dosing, further strengthening Teva’s position in innovative immunology and biologic drug development.
Source: Teva Pharmaceutical press release
