Pheast Therapeutics is developing anti-CD24 antibodies that inhibit macrophage checkpoint signals, enabling these immune cells to effectively target and eliminate tumor cells in aggressive cancers. This approach aims to enhance phagocytosis and improve patient survival rates by providing a novel therapeutic option in oncology.
Funding
$76M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Many cancers evade the immune system by expressing checkpoint signals that prevent macrophages from recognizing and eliminating tumor cells. These "don't eat me" signals, such as CD24, allow cancer cells to avoid phagocytosis, limiting the effectiveness of the innate immune response. Current cancer therapies often fail to fully engage macrophages, leaving a critical component of the immune system underutilized.
Solution
Pheast Therapeutics is developing a novel class of macrophage checkpoint inhibitors, including anti-CD24 antibodies, designed to enhance the innate immune response against aggressive cancers. Their approach focuses on blocking "don't eat me" signals expressed by cancer cells, thereby enabling macrophages to effectively target and phagocytose tumor cells. By inhibiting CD24, Pheast's lead program aims to restore macrophage-mediated tumor clearance. The company's proprietary discovery platform identifies additional tumor-specific signals to create targeted immunotherapies. These therapies are being developed both as standalone treatments and in combination with existing anti-cancer therapies.
Target Audience
The primary target audience includes patients with aggressive cancers, particularly those expressing CD24, and the oncologists treating these patients who seek novel immunotherapeutic approaches.
Features
- Anti-CD24 antibodies designed to block the CD24 "don't eat me" signal on cancer cells
- Proprietary discovery platform for identifying novel macrophage checkpoint targets
- Development of tumor-specific, macrophage-targeted immunotherapies
- Clinical biomarker strategies to optimize patient selection and treatment response
- Preclinical data demonstrating enhanced phagocytosis and tumor shrinkage
- Investigating combination therapies with existing immunotherapies, tumor-targeting antibodies, and chemotherapies
- PHST001, an anti-CD24 macrophage checkpoint inhibitor, currently in Phase 1 clinical trials for advanced solid tumors
- FDA Fast Track designation for PHST001 for the treatment of ovarian cancer