New drug candidate could make existing cancer immunotherapies more effective

About the Project

Dr. Michael Bassik and his team discovered several new anti-phagocytic factors, including Adipocyte Plasma Membrane Associated Protein (APMAP), that limit the effectiveness of monoclonal antibody cancer therapies. Working side-by-side with the IMA’s in-house industry experts, Dr. Bassik and his team developed and implemented a high-throughput screen of thousands of small molecules and identified several highly promising candidates. They are now working with a pharmaceutical company to create medicines to expand the range of cancers that can be treated. Dr. Bassik credits the IMA’s in-house experts for providing the expertise needed to catapult his project through the IMA on a timeline that far exceeded what is typically the norm.