Updated: In turnaround, ALX Oncology’s CD47 blocker shows efficacy in gastric cancer trial

Don’t write off CD47 just yet.

ALX On­col­o­gy said that 52% of gas­tric can­cer pa­tients who re­ceived its an­ti-CD47 drug evor­pacept in com­bi­na­tion with a se­ries of oth­er can­cer med­i­cines saw their tu­mors shrink com­pared to 22% of pa­tients in the con­trol arm who on­ly re­ceived the oth­er med­i­cines.

The strik­ing re­sults from the Phase II tri­al in gas­tric can­cer come af­ter the CD47 field has been bat­tered with fail­ures. Gilead and ALX have each cut two stud­ies in acute myeloid leukemia and its pre­cur­sor dis­ease, myelodys­plas­tic syn­dromes, due to lack of ef­fi­ca­cy. And in Sep­tem­ber, Ab­b­Vie dropped its pact with I-Mab on an an­ti-CD47 an­ti­body af­ter back­ing out of part of the deal last year.

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