GT Biopharma Inc (GTBP)

[BlissTaxi]

Combination Therapies hold out a big possibility for a major buy-out:

One of the trends in immuno-oncology is the increasing focus on combination therapies. Checkpoint inhibitors are popular partners for other immuno-oncology agents because they take the brakes off of an attack on cancer cells. This class of immuno-oncology agent works well in conjunction with other approaches that release cancer cell antigens, which are able to activate T-cells for a further attack. Chemotherapy is another popular combination partner for immunotherapies given its ability to prime the immune system. Some of the combinations that have already been approved are between pembrolizumab and chemotherapies (pemetrexed and carboplatin) and between two types of checkpoint inhibitors (nivolumab and ipilimumab for first line treatment of kidney cancer). Numerous additional trials are also underway which combine checkpoint inhibitors with cancer vaccines, oncolytic viruses and agents that address other points in the cancer immunity cycle. A benefit of combination therapies is that they may reduce development of drug resistance, since a tumor is less likely to lose effectiveness when multiple compounds are administered together. The hope for combination therapy is that it will approach the cancer from two different directions creating a synergistic benefit. We anticipate that combination work will be in the future for both the NK cell engagers and the bi-specific ADCs.