October 26, 2026
Tegoprubart-treated patients demonstrated a mean improvement on the total MTSOSD-59R symptom occurrence scale at 12 months while tacrolimus-treated patients experienced a mean worsening of symptom occurrence
Statistically significant improvement on the KDQOL-SF Symptoms and Problems Scale among tegoprubart-treated patients through 12 months following kidney transplantation versus tacrolimus
Results further validate the differentiated clinical profile of tegoprubart and potential to transform standard of care in kidney transplantation
IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Eledon”) (Nasdaq: ELDN) today announced new positive patient-reported outcomes data from the Phase 2 BESTOW clinical trial of tegoprubart, its novel investigational immunosuppression therapy. The data showed significant, sustained improvements in health-related quality of life and symptom burden through 12 months compared with standard of care tacrolimus following kidney transplantation. The results were featured in an oral presentation at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week 2026 Annual Meeting held October 21-25, 2026, in Denver, Colorado.
“The patient-reported outcomes presented at ASN Kidney Week provide perhaps the clearest picture yet of what tegoprubart’s differentiated profile means for transplant patients in everyday life,” said David-Alexandre C. Gros, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Eledon. “We previously reported encouraging BESTOW results across efficacy, kidney function and safety measures, which alone strengthened our belief in tegoprubart. The additional findings presented demonstrate that these clinical outcomes were accompanied by substantial and importantly sustained improvements in quality of life and reductions in transplant-related symptom burden. Giving transplant patients an effective, safer and more tolerable alternative to tacrolimus addresses one of the most important unmet needs in organ transplantation, and collectively, these data further support the potential of tegoprubart to become a transformative new treatment option for kidney transplant recipients.”
“Success after kidney transplantation is measured not only by preventing rejection and preserving graft function, but also by how patients feel and function in their everyday lives,” said presenting author Andrew Adams, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Surgery and Chief, Division of Transplantation, John S. Najarian Surgical Chair in Clinical Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota. “What is particularly compelling about these BESTOW results is the consistency of the patient-reported benefits when treated with tegoprubart compared with tacrolimus following kidney transplant. We observed broad improvements in quality-of-life measures together with remarkably favorable outcomes in transplant-specific symptom reporting. The extent of separation between treatment groups suggests patients receiving tegoprubart may experience meaningful quality of life advantages while maintaining strong clinical outcomes as previously reported from BESTOW.”
Patient-Reported Outcomes Results
Patient-reported outcomes were assessed using the Modified Transplant Symptom Occurrence and Symptom Distress Scale (MTSOSD-59R) and the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form (KDQOL-SF) Symptoms and Problems Scale, both validated measures of symptom burden. Baseline scores were similar between treatment groups. Collectively, the consistency of findings across both the KDQOL-SF and MTSOSD-59R assessments suggests that reductions in transplant-related symptom burden with tegoprubart may contribute to the improvements observed in patient-reported quality of life and further supports the differentiated clinical profile of tegoprubart compared to tacrolimus observed in the Phase 2 BESTOW clinical trial.
On the MTSOSD-59R assessment, tegoprubart-treated patients reported continued reductions in symptom occurrence from baseline at Months 6 and 12, whereas symptom occurrence in the tacrolimus arm initially declined through Month 6 before returning to slightly above baseline levels at Month 12.
Total MTSOSD-59R
Scores represent symptom occurrence
(higher scores reflect greater symptom occurrence)
CI, confidence interval; KDQOL-SF, Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form; MTSOSD-59R, Modified Transplant Symptom Occurrence Scale- 59 Items Revised; SEM, standard error of the mean; tac, tacrolimus; tego, tegoprubart.
Tegoprubart demonstrated greater symptom improvement than tacrolimus in 22 of 23 domains where differential improvement was observed, including neurological, gastrointestinal, metabolic, and physical symptom categories. In addition, tacrolimus demonstrated greater symptom worsening in 22 of 22 domains where differential symptom worsening was observed.
On the KDQOL-SF assessment, kidney transplant patients treated with tegoprubart demonstrated improvements from baseline across all five subscales through Month 12. In the KDQOL-SF scale, a change of 3-5 points can be considered clinically significant, and tegoprubart was thus associated with a clinically and statistically significant improvement in the symptoms and problems subscale compared with tacrolimus at Month 12, with mean changes from baseline of 9.0 and 3.3 points, respectively (p<0.05). Consistent with these findings, the SF-12 mental component summary score increased by 1.5 points in the tegoprubart arm compared to a decline of 1.6 points in the tacrolimus arm, representing a 3.1-point between-group difference.
a Higher scores indicate better HRQoL; a change of 3–5 points can be considered clinically significant1. Baseline values were similar across all outcomes. *p < 0.05. HRQoL, health-related quality of life; KDQOL-SF, Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short-Form instrument; SEM, standard error of the mean; SF-12, 12-item short-form survey; tac, tacrolimus; tego, tegoprubart.1. KDOQI. Am J Kidney Dis 2007;50:471–530.
Details of the oral presentation at ASN Kidney Week 2026 are below:
Title: Patient-Reported Outcomes in the Phase 2 BESTOW Trial Comparing Tegoprubart to Tacrolimus in Kidney Transplant Recipients
Presenter: Andrew B. Adams, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota Medical School; Minneapolis, Minnesota
Abstract Publication Number: FR-OR084
Session Title: The Changing Landscape of Kidney Transplantation: Clinical Innovation, Outcomes, and Healthy Policy
Session Date and Time: Friday, October 23, 2026, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. MDT
Session Room: Mile High Ballroom 4A (Convention Center)
Presentation Time: 4:40 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. MDT
About Eledon Pharmaceuticals and tegoprubart
Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical stage biotechnology company that is developing immune-modulating therapies for the management and treatment of life-threatening conditions. The Company’s lead investigational product is tegoprubart, an anti-CD40L antibody with high affinity for the CD40 Ligand, a well-validated biological target that has broad therapeutic potential. The central role of CD40L signaling in both adaptive and innate immune cell activation and function positions it as an attractive target for non-lymphocyte depleting, immunomodulatory therapeutic intervention. The Company is building upon a deep historical knowledge of anti-CD40L biology to conduct preclinical and clinical studies in kidney allograft transplantation, xenotransplantation, islet cell transplantation, liver transplantation and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Eledon is headquartered in Irvine, California. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.eledon.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
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