Incyte Corporation announced that the first patient treated has been treated in Incyte’s Phase III clinical trial, GRAVITAS-301, assessing itacitinib, its Janus Kinase Inhibitor (JAK1) as a potential treatment for acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in combination with corticosteroids.

“Today, there are no approved treatment options for acute GVHD, a severe and life-threatening condition that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death in certain transplant recipients,” said Steven Stein, M.D., Incyte’s Chief Medical Officer in a release. “The initiation of the GRAVITAS-301 trial represents an important milestone for Incyte as we continue to progress our clinical development portfolio, and we look forward to further evaluating the potential of itacinitib to address the unmet needs of patients with this potentially devastating condition.”

GVHD is a condition that might occur after an allogeneic transplant (the transfer of genetically dissimilar stem cells or tissue), whereby the donated bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells view the recipient’s body as foreign and attack the body.

GVHD can be acute or chronic, and is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in transplant recipients. The skin, gastrointestinal (digestive) tract, and liver are the most commonly affected organs in patients with acute GVHD.