Immuno-Oncology

What assays are used to identify good therapeutic candidates that modulate the immune response? This is Part 3 of our series, “Immuno-Oncology: I-O, I-O, Off to Fighting Cancer We Go…”. Miss Part 1 or Part 2? Catch up! What assays are used to identify good therapeutic candidates that modulate the immune response? The approval of Yervoy ushered in a new era of cancer treatment options where the immune system could be modulated to attack and eliminate cancer cells. Following suit, it is forecasted by financial experts that the immuno-oncology treatment space could be worth $20-50 billion dollars by 2020. Not [...]

What molecules can modulate the immune response? What are examples of those being developed as therapeutics? This is Part 2 of our series, “Immuno-Oncology: I-O, I-O, Off to Fighting Cancer We Go…”. Miss Part 1? Catch up here. What are some of the molecules that inhibit immune response currently being developed? As mentioned in Part 1, therapeutics against checkpoint inhibitor molecules, such as CTLA-4 and PD-1, are currently approved for certain indications while also undergoing clinical trials for others. In addition, trials are underway for therapeutics that target PD-L1, the ligand for PD-1, which is found to be up-regulated in [...]

What is I-O? What are checkpoint inhibitors? What is immuno-oncology? The field of immuno-oncology, also known as cancer immunotherapy, is centered on mobilizing the immune system to attack cancer cells and eradicate tumors. With this approach, therapeutics target molecules on lymphocytes that will either activate them or keep them from being inactivated, in order to sustain the immune response. With a sustained response, the immune system can search for and eliminate cancerous cells and tumors. Many years of research and development went into targeting these types of molecules on lymphocytes and, finally, with the approval of Yervoy® (ipilimumab, www.yervoy.com/) by [...]