IL4R Inhibitors
1 drugsAbout IL4R
The Interleukin-4 receptor (IL4R), also known as IL-4Rα, is a receptor protein on immune cells. It binds to interleukin-4 (IL-4), initiating intracellular events that influence cell growth, differentiation, and antibody production, modulating immune responses.
Human genetics provide moderate support for IL4R as a therapeutic target, with variants linked to atopic eczema (score 0.46) and seborrheic dermatitis (score 0.44). Loss-of-function variants are associated with increased risk, suggesting activation may be beneficial.
IL4R is targeted by one FDA-approved antibody drug, DUPIXENT (Regeneron), which has 5 indications in immunology. The first approval was in 2017.
IL4R Genetic Evidence Strong
Genetic evidence provides moderate support for IL4R, with a max score of 0.46 linked to atopic eczema.
Moderate genetic support suggests further validation studies are needed to confirm target validity and prioritize indications.
💡 Why inhibition?
- • Loss-of-function variants reduce disease risk (OR < 1)
- • 100% directional consistency across 1 traits
- • Strong signal in phenotype, respiratory or thoracic disease pathways
Cross-Disease Effects
Trade-off: LowDirection of Effect
100% alignedEvidence Across Diseases
20 totalGWAS and other genetic studies link IL4R to 30 diseases.
Inhibiting this target may be therapeutic
🔗 Colocalization Evidence 20 strong
max H4: 1.00eQTL/pQTL signals for IL4R colocalize with these GWAS traits, providing causal evidence that gene expression changes drive disease risk.
Understanding these scores
Association Score (0-1): Combines all evidence types (genetic, literature, drugs, animal models). Higher = more evidence linking target to disease. This is a ranking heuristic, not a confidence score.
L2G Score: Open Targets uses a machine learning model (Locus-to-Gene) to predict which gene is causal at each GWAS locus. L2G=0.5 means ~50% probability of being the causal gene. Only associations with L2G > 0.05 are included.
Odds Ratio (OR): From gene burden studies (UK Biobank, AstraZeneca PheWAS). Measures how loss-of-function variants affect disease risk. OR<1 = protective (inhibiting target may help), OR>1 = risk (losing function causes disease).
Beta (β): Effect size for continuous traits. β<0 = protective, β>0 = risk.
Clinical Translation (~1.8x): Based on Nelson et al. 2015: drug targets with genetic evidence have ~2x higher success rates in clinical trials. We estimate: Strong support (score ≥0.7) → ~1.8x, Moderate (0.3-0.7) → ~1.3x, Weak → baseline.
Colocalization (H4): Tests whether a GWAS signal and an eQTL/pQTL signal share the same causal variant. H4 is the posterior probability that both traits are associated AND share a causal variant. H4 > 0.8 = strong evidence that gene expression/protein levels drive disease risk. This links genetic variation → gene expression → disease, supporting the target-disease connection.
Top IL4R Drugs
Regeneron is the only company with an approved IL4R-targeting drug.
High market concentration suggests significant entry barriers, requiring a differentiated therapeutic approach.
IL4R Drug Modality Landscape
Modalities
Routes of Administration
Only one approved drug targets IL4R, using antibody modality.
Explore alternative modalities like small molecules or peptides to differentiate from existing antibody therapies.
IL4R Clinical Trials 183 trials
Phase 1-4 trials started in 2008 or later that test an FDA-approved drug acting on IL4R. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov. How we count
Completion by Phase
| Phase | Total | Completed | Stopped | Active | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 100% |
| Phase 2 | 56 | 33 | 7 | 16 | 83% |
| Phase 3 | 53 | 38 | 2 | 13 | 95% |
| Phase 4 | 54 | 23 | 4 | 27 | 85% |
Top Sponsors
By Modality
Top Conditions
Top Drugs
Phase 3 Readout Calendar Pro
6 Phase 3 trials testing approved IL4R drugs across all sponsors.
Coverage: trials whose intervention is an approved drug targeting IL4R. Pre-approval candidates with development codes (e.g. AZD0901, MK-7240) are not yet linked. Anchored on CT.gov primary completion date.
IL4R Drug Approval Timeline (2017 - 2017)
The first and only IL4R-targeting drug, DUPIXENT, was approved in 2017.
The lack of recent approvals indicates a potentially saturated market, requiring novel strategies for future development.
Pro Intelligence Preview
Deep insights for drug target analysis
Competitive Landscape
- • 1 companies competing
- • Market share by company
Full Drug Portfolio
- • All 1 approved drugs
- • Approval dates & indications
Genetic Validation
- • Full genetic evidence table
- • Effect sizes & directions
Approval Timeline
- • Full 1-drug timeline
- • First-of-modality markers
Clinical Trials Analysis
- • Sponsors: 63 (14 companies)
- • Completion rates by condition
Full summary • All drugs • Genetic evidence • Trials • Timeline
How We Count Trials
- Trials: phase 1-4 interventional trials on ClinicalTrials.gov that started in 2008 or later and test an FDA-approved drug acting on IL4R. A trial counts if an approved drug acting on IL4R is in any arm, including as a comparator, and a trial that tests two such drugs counts once. Trials that test only unapproved drugs are not counted. A trial listed as phase 1/2 counts as phase 1, and phase 2/3 as phase 2.
- Active: recruiting, not yet recruiting, enrolling by invitation, or active and no longer recruiting.
- Completion rate: of the trials that have ended, the share marked Completed rather than Terminated or Withdrawn. Completed means the trial ended as planned; it does not mean the drug worked. Suspended trials are not counted as ended.
- Stopped: terminated or withdrawn. Trials stop for many reasons, including slow enrolment and business decisions, not only safety or efficacy.
- Sponsors: the lead sponsor of each trial. Companies are the sponsors ClinicalTrials.gov classes as industry; the rest are universities, hospitals, cooperative groups, government bodies and individuals.