Investment: Mereo BioPharma

Amount: Undisclosed

Drug: Etigilimab

Target: Clear cell ovarian cancer

Prevalence: Approximately 5-10% of all ovarian carcinomas in North America.

The firm: Mereo BioPharma is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative therapeutics for rare diseases. The firm began by purchasing promising drugs and has several drugs in advanced trials. The firm trades on NASDAQ under the stock symbol MREO.

How Etigilimab works: An anti-TIGIT antibody binds to the TIGIT checkpoint receptor, a protein that normally dampens the immune response, thus boosting the immune system's activity.

How it’s different: Reduces proteins that get in the way of cancer response while maintaining levels of a type of T-cell that attacks cancer cells, thereby balancing efficacy and safety.

Trial:: Etigilimab will be studied in a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in combination with an anti-PD-1 antibody in clear cell ovarian cancer at MD Anderson and led by Shannon Westin, MD, MPH.

Website: https://www.mereobiopharma.com