Leukemia

Despite major efforts in the advance of chemotherapeutic agents, new treatments are needed for leukemia, especially in the case of refractory disease. Current treatments are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Targeting IL-1α offers a novel, low-morbidity approach in the treatment of leukemia.

In the late 1970s leukopheresis was used to isolate leukemic cells from patients with acute myelomoncytic leukemia. These leukemic cells were used to produce what was then called lymphocyte activating factor (LAF), or what we now call IL-1. Leukopheresis produced industrial-scale amounts of IL-1 and it is remarkable to this day that white blood cells, even leukemic cells, could produce so much of this very potent inflammatory substance in patients.

There is no other pathophysiological process known to generate such quantities of IL-1. Thus we expect that the production of IL-1 from leukemic cells may be a significant source of disease morbidity and/or progression. Treating certain kinds of leukemia with an anti-IL-1α antibody may therefore be an effective treatment option.

Numerous pre-clinical models support this concept, including animal models, which demonstrate the significance of IL-1α in the growth of acute myeloid leukemia. For example, leukemia cells cultured from patients with various forms of acute myelogenous leukemia show that IL-1 is an important growth factor for leukemic blast cell proliferation.

We believe that targeting IL-1α with a True Human™ monoclonal antibody may relieve symptoms associated with disease and reduce IL-1α dependent growth potential of leukemic cells.