Igniting the immune system
Bexmarilimab is one of the most advanced myeloid cell-targeting immunotherapy candidates in development, within an emerging field of immunotherapy that is gaining scientific and clinical validation.
A first-in-class, humanized monoclonal antibody, bexmarilimab binds to Clever-1, an immunosuppressive receptor found on macrophages leading to tumor growth and metastases (i.e., it helps cancer to evade the immune system), and a novel immune checkpoint target for drug development.
Discovered by Faron and wholly owned, this investigational immunotherapy is designed to overcome resistance to existing treatments and optimize clinical outcomes, by targeting myeloid cell function and igniting the immune system.
In combination with standard-of-care, and in both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, bexmarilimab may improve the efficacy of current cancer treatments and bring the promise of immunotherapy to a broader population.
Priming the tumor microenvironment
Bexmarilimab primes the tumor microenvironment for optimal antitumor immune responses (i.e., to enhance the clinical benefit of concomitant therapies). Clinical data from the Company's trials of bexmarilimab show increased immune activation as measured by the proinflammatory cytokine, interferon (IFN), supporting potential combinations with standard of care, such as checkpoint inhibitors, which require an IFN response to work.
A broad development program is underway investigating its potential in both hematological malignancies and solid tumors.
Unique mode of action
By targeting the Clever-1 receptor on macrophages, bexmarilimab alters the tumor microenvironment, reprogramming them from an immunosuppressive (M2) state to an immunostimulatory (M1) one, upregulating IFN production and priming the immune system to attack tumors and sensitizing cancer cells to standard of care.
- In solid tumors, the result is increased antigen presentation, secretion of proinflammatory cytokines such as IFN-gamma (which is critical to both innate and adaptive immunity), and activation of T cells, igniting an optimal antitumor immune response. This is capable of converting nonresponsive ‘cold’ tumors, where treatment is currently so difficult, into responsive ‘hot’ tumors.
- In hematological malignancies, not only is the Clever-1 receptor expressed on monocytes (put simply, macrophages in the blood) – as it is on the macrophages within a solid tumor microenvironment – it is also directly expressed on the leukemic cancer cells (blasts) themselves. Blasts are a young form of macrophages in the path of becoming adult, fully differentiated cells, which develop abnormally and cannot be controlled, allowing cancer to spread. This provides bexmarilimab with a dual mode of action, activating an immune response by targeting the monocytes and, at the same time, targeting the leukemic cancer cells themselves, to reduce their metabolic fitness, limit their viability and increase their sensitization to standard therapies.