Eledon Pharmaceuticals Updates Islet Transplant Trial Results

Eledon Pharmaceuticals announced updated results from an investigator-initiated trial conducted at the University of Chicago Medicine Transplant Institute and presented by Piotr Witkowski, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Pancreas and Islet Transplant Program at UChicago Medicine, at the Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes conference, held March 11-14, 2026 in Barcelona, Spain. The investigator-initiated pilot study enrolled 12 adults with long-standing type 1 diabetes undergoing allogeneic islet transplantation at UChicago Medicine. Patients had a median duration of diabetes of approximately 33 years and mean hemoglobin A1C of approximately 8.0% prior to transplantation. Participants received tegoprubart, Eledon's anti-CD40L monoclonal antibody, as part of a calcineurin inhibitor-free immunosuppression regimen. The data demonstrated rapid improvement in glycemic control following islet transplantation, with stable islet graft function observed across the cohort. All 10 patients who were more than four weeks post-transplant achieved both insulin independence and a most recent HbA1c below 6.0%, with a mean most recent HbA1c across the 10 patients of approximately 5.35%. Tegoprubart-based immunosuppression was generally well tolerated with reported post-transplant immunosuppression-related adverse events successfully treated by lowering the mycophenolic acid dose, if necessary. There were no rejection episodes, and no patients developed de novo donor-specific HLA antibodies. Additionally, no evidence of nephrotoxicity, hypertension or neurotoxicity, which are commonly associated with tacrolimus-based immunosuppression regimens, was observed. These findings further support the potential of CD40L blockade to enable effective islet graft protection while avoiding the toxicities of calcineurin inhibitors.