Ipilimumab
Ipilimumab, sold under the brand name Yervoy, is a monoclonal antibody medication that works to activate the immune system by targeting CTLA-4, a protein receptor that downregulates the immune system.
| Monoclonal antibody | |
|---|---|
| Type | Whole antibody |
| Source | Human |
| Target | CTLA-4 |
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| Pronunciation | i pi lim′ ue mab |
| Trade names | Yervoy |
| Other names | BMS-734016, MDX-010, MDX-101 |
| AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
| MedlinePlus | a611023 |
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| Routes of administration | Intravenous (IV) |
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| Chemical and physical data | |
| Formula | C6742H9972N1732O2004S40 |
| Molar mass | 148634.46 g·mol−1 |
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Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) can recognize and destroy cancer cells. However, an inhibitory mechanism interrupts this destruction. Ipilimumab turns off this inhibitory mechanism and boosts the body's immune response against cancer cells.
Ipilimumab was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March 2011, for the treatment of melanoma, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), malignant pleural mesothelioma, esophageal cancer. It is undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of bladder cancer and metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer.
The concept of using anti-CTLA4 antibodies to treat cancer was first developed by James P. Allison while he was director of the Cancer Research Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. Clinical development of anti-CTLA4 was initiated by Medarex, which was later acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb. For his work in developing ipilimumab, Allison was awarded the Lasker Award in 2015. Allison later was the co-winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.