Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, so there are many untapped research areas that need to be addressed. Oncology is a broad field with many different types of applications. Researchers' attention is gradually shifting to immunotherapies. Immunotherapy employs the body's own components to combat cancer. Immune checkpoint molecules are molecules that either stimulate or inhibit immune cells. Yervoy was the first drug to be approved in the field of immune checkpoint inhibitors. This anti-CTLA-4 drug was followed by a slew of others, including Keytruda and Opdivo.
CLTA-4 is abnormally up-regulated and found on the surface of T cells in certain cancers, dampening T-cell activation in response to tumor cells, whereas PD-1 inhibits T-cell function, allowing the tumor to infiltrate the immune system. Inhibiting a checkpoint increases the anti-tumor T-cell response, resulting in cancerous cells being destroyed.
Similarly, many other players in the Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Market are conducting clinical trials with CLTA-4 and PD-1 inhibitors and based on previous results, it has been estimated that the molecules will generate a small number of effective cancer treatments.
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