anti-PDL-1 - 1255559

Thanks for posting this, ssflxl.
I wish they'd just get on with it! The research, I mean ...

Anti-PD-L1 is related to anti-PD1, blocking a different place in the same general pathway. There's plenty of reason to be hopeful about the agents against this target as well as nivolumab (BMS-936558) and other anti-PD1 agents in development. I'm sure that the companies are incentivized to move forward as quickly as they can, and investigators are certainly eager to participate in these trials when they can.

-Dr. West

Following up on that, at the ASCO conference earlier this month there was some early data on an experimental anti-PD-L1 drug MPDL3280A that looked surprisingly good (80% odds) for patients whose cancer expressed the PD-L1 target. (I'm always looking for anything well-targeted that is effective.) That seems better than the anti-PD1's, and seems "too good" so I can't help but want to go back and re-view the details more carefully when I can. Dr. West hosted that session, so he might be in an especially good position to size up for us which approaches and specific drugs from that session really seemed most promising.

http://meetinglibrary.asco.org/content/115901-132

Best hopes,

Craig in PA

Will follow-up with a post on this sometime soon.

-Dr. West