Humanigen Inc (HGENQ)

[cowtown jay]

Good to hear from you, eb! I've been wishing you well.

"GM-CSF is produced in large amounts under inflammatory conditions by activated cells of the immune system, and its functions on myeloid cells reflect this proinflammatory role. It is involved in the activation of myeloid cells and therefore, may be a more promising target for the development of future drugs aimed at controlling inflammatory autoimmune diseases."

This was published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology in 2016. Interestingly, two of the compounds noted in the article are Mavrilimimab (Mavrilimumab), MedImmune's Rheumatoid Arthritis drug, and KB003, which is now known as lenzilumab.

https://jlb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1189/jlb.3RU0316-144R

The National Cancer Institute defines lenzilumab as, "A recombinant monoclonal antibody against the cytokine granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), with potential immunomodulating activity. Upon administration, lenzilumab binds to and neutralizes GM-CSF. This prevents GM-CSF binding to the GM-CSF receptor..." As I understand it, without this binding, the virus would be carried by myeloid cells to a receptor cell.

https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-drug/def/lenzilumab