OncoLife: Targeting the “Don’t Eat Me Signal,” The Future of Macrophage Checkpoint Inhibitors in Oncology
June 9, 2025
In an OncoLife spotlight interview, Dr. Raphaël Rousseau, Chief Medical Officer of Pheast Therapeutics, highlights the opportunity of next generation macrophage checkpoint inhibitors in cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Rousseau shares how Pheast’s lead program, PHST001, a monoclonal antibody targeting the CD24 “don’t eat me” signal, is designed to unlock the tumor-clearing potential of macrophages while avoiding the limitations of earlier approaches. Engineered for high specificity across CD24 glycoforms and incorporating a safety-focused IgG4 backbone, PHST001 is now in clinical trials for advanced relapsed and/or refractory solid tumors. The article underscores how Pheast’s approach to innate immune modulation could open new therapeutic options for cancer patients with high unmet need.
Read the article online or download the pdf here.