Translational kinetic-pharmacodynamics of mRNA-6231, an investigational mRNA therapeutic encoding mutein interleukin-2

Abstract

Regulatory T cells (T_regs) are essential for maintaining immune homeostasis by serving as negative regulators of adaptive immune system effector cell responses. Reduced production or function of T_regs has been implicated in several human autoimmune diseases. The cytokine interleukin 2 plays a central role in promoting T_reg differentiation, survival, and function in vivo and may therefore have therapeutic benefits for autoimmune diseases. mRNA-6231 is an investigational, lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated, mRNA-based therapy that encodes a modified human interleukin 2 mutein fused to human serum albumin (HSA-IL2m). Herein, we report the development of a semi-mechanistic kinetic-pharmacodynamic model to quantify the relationship between subcutaneous dose(s) of mRNA-6231, HSA-IL2m protein expression, and T_reg expansion in nonhuman primates. The nonclinical kinetic-pharmacodynamic model was extrapolated to humans using allometric scaling principles and the physiological basis of pharmacological mechanisms to predict the clinical response to therapy a priori. Model-based simulations were used to inform the dose selection and design of the first-in-human clinical study (NCT04916431). The modeling approach used to predict human responses was validated when data became available from the phase I clinical study. This validation indicates that the approach is valuable in informing clinical decision-making.