CD47 blockade continues on its bumpy journey

Though CD47 blockade features over 30 different clinical-stage assets, according to Evaluate Pharma, little seems to go smoothly. Yesterday I-Mab was forced to defend Abbvie’s decision to terminate a multiple myeloma trial of lemzoparlimab, the groups’ joint anti-CD47 MAb whose clinicaltrials.gov listing was recently marked “terminated (strategic considerations)”. In an investor statement I-Mab said there was no safety concern behind this “exploratory trial” being halted, adding that development in acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) was continuing. While Abbvie’s decision might be benign, it coincides with ALX Oncology last month pausing the Aspen-05 trial of evorpacept in AML while it awaits dose-optimisation data from the Aspen-02 MDS study; the project had disappointed clinically last year. In January some trials of magrolimab, which Gilead had acquired with its $4.9bn purchase of Forty Seven, were halted over suspected adverse events; the hold was lifted in April on AML and MDS trials, and in June on those in multiple myeloma and lymphoma. Some of the most keenly watched anti-CD47 projects are TTI-621 and TTI-622, which Pfizer had acquired with Trillium for $2.3bn a year ago. I-Mab is due to present a lemzoparlimab update in high-risk MDS at Esmo in September.