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CD47 checkpoint data supercharge Stanford spinout IPO

Nature Biotechnology volume 36, pages 671–672 (2018)Cite this article

A News to this article was published on 01 October 2018

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Forty-Seven, a biotech that stakes its name on the idea of disrupting CD47 signaling to activate macrophages to fight cancer, went public in late June, raising $112 million to add to the nearly $170 million previously committed in venture financing and grants. The stock offering comes only three years after Forty Seven launched on the risky proposition of targeting a protein found on both healthy cells and tumors—an approach that is beginning to pay off, for investors and patients alike. At scientific meetings and in regulatory filings in early June, the company reported that its lead antibody drug caused few serious side effects other than transient anemia, while producing biological responses across a range of solid and hematological cancers, including in combination regimens with other tumor-targeted therapies.

As the only company with a CD47-targeted drug in phase 2 testing, Forty Seven has established itself as the front-runner in the race to develop a monoclonal antibody (mAb) immunotherapy directed against the 'do-not-eat-me' CD47 signal that tumor cells co-opt to shield themselves from macrophage-mediated killing. It's hardly alone, though. At least four other companies have entered the clinic with mAbs or fusion-protein drugs that block the activity of CD47 on tumor cells (Table 1). Several others also have small molecules and antibody therapies in preclinical development that target CD47 or its binding partner—signal regulatory protein (SIRP)α, an inhibitory receptor found on macrophages.

Table 1 Therapies targeting CD47–SIRPα signaling in clinical trials
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Change history

  • 26 September 2018

    This News Analysis described ongoing trials for drugs targeting CD47. However, the article omitted mention of a clinical trial with an anti-CD47 antibody from Tioma Therapeutics, which was terminated on the death of the first patient dosed. This fatality, potentially ascribed to red cell agglutination, may have some bearing on other trials with anti-CD47 antibodies.

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  1. Somerville, Massachusetts

    Elie Dolgin

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Dolgin, E. CD47 checkpoint data supercharge Stanford spinout IPO. Nat Biotechnol 36, 671–672 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0818-671

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