BioCentury
ARTICLE | Distillery Therapeutics

Therapeutics: V-region immunoglobulin-containing suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA); programmed cell death 1 (PD-1; PDCD1; CD279); programmed cell death 1

May 14, 2015 7:00 AM UTC

Mouse studies suggest combining mAbs against VISTA and PD-1 or PD-L1 could help treat cancer. In mice, double-knockout of VISTA and PD-1 increased T cell responses to non-self antigens compared with single-knockout of either gene or normal expression of VISTA and PD-1. In mouse models of colon cancer and melanoma, an anti-VISTA mAb and an anti-PD-L1 mAb synergistically decreased tumor growth and increased survival compared with either antibody alone. Next steps include developing a humanized mAb against VISTA.

ImmuNext Inc. and Johnson & Johnson have anti-VISTA antibodies in preclinical testing to treat cancer.Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. market the anti-PD-1 antibody Opdivo nivolumab to treat melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ...