Arthritis4Cure and LFB BIOMANUFACTURING join forces to accelerate the development and production of a targeted immunotherapy against rheumatoid arthritis
Alès (France) – Thursday 6th 2025 – Today, LFB BIOMANUFACTURING, a key player in the production of biopharmaceuticals in France, announced a strategic partnership with Arthritis4Cure, a biotech company created by the Arthritis Foundation to develop new targeted therapies against autoimmune diseases. Their ambition is to industrialise the manufacturing of its first lead candidate, the peptibody A4C-001, designed to cure rheumatoid arthritis, a potential major medical breakthrough for patients.
LFB BIOMANUFACTURING, a subsidiary of LFB, specialised in the production of therapeutic proteins, will provide its development platform and industrial capacities for the development and production of this specific immunotherapy designed by the biotech company Arthristis4Cure and its scientific partners for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. This lead candidate, the first from the biotech company Arthritis4Cure, is composed of an antibody fragment and a protein chain that attaches to the B lymphocytes responsible for the disease, thus inducing their targeted destruction. LFB BIOMANUFACTURING’s plant located in Alès in the Gard department will support Arthritis4Cure producing clinical batches for the launch of the first clinical trials of the biomedicinal product.
Herbert GUEDEGBE, CEO of LFB BIOMANUFACTURING emphasizes: “As a key player in bioproduction in France, we are proud to support Arthritis4Cure in this major and unprecedented scientific advance for patients. This collaboration illustrates our commitment to offer our industrial expertise for therapeutic innovations of tomorrow. Our aim is to ensure that this biomedicine is produced under optimal conditions, in order to accelerate its development and availability for patients.”
For Lionel COMOLE, CEO of Arthritis4Cure: “Our ambitious project to develop this biomedicinal product was made possible through the excellent research carried out over the past 5 years in collaboration with academics and hospitals in Toulouse and Montpellier. Today, we were looking for a cutting-edge industrial partner to make this innovation a reality and move to large-scale production. LFB BIOMANUFACTURING was the obvious choice: its expertise and bioproduction capabilities will be essential to ensure the success of this promising therapy.”
About rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory autoimmune disease that affects the joints. This disabling condition is two to three times more common in women than in men (https://www.inserm.fr/dossier/polyarthrite-rhumatoide/). An estimated 0.5% of the world’s adult population is affected by this disease that also causes damage in systems outside of joints (lungs, heart, blood vessels, skin, eyes, etc.) and reduces life expectancy by 5 to 10 years. Its incidence is constant throughout the world1. There are several available treatments that focus on the symptoms, such as paracetamol for pain management, corticosteroids for inflammation or new generation treatments such as biological immunosuppressive therapies which are associated with many serious side effects.
Most patients develop resistance to these treatments over time, and the disease then resumes its destruction. With our new candidate A4C-001, we aim to act at the source of the pathophysiology.
Unlike current targeted treatments that eliminate part of the immune system, or even B lymphocytes – leading to immunodeficiency –, the therapy developed by Arthritis4Cure and LFB BIOMANUFACTURING exclusively targets the pathogenic cells responsible for joint damage, by destroying the clones of cells that produce the autoantibodies responsible for the disease.
This revolutionary treatment could ultimately induce total remission of rheumatoid arthritis, a major and unprecedented innovation for patients suffering from this serious disease.