Immune Therapies

We’re focused on treating human diseases by developing potent new biological drugs. We study how antibodies (a natural product of the immune system) switch the immune system on and off. We also study how we can use this to kill unwanted cancers and infections or prevent destructive inflammation and allergies.

Every antibody is composed of 2 functional parts that provide 2 distinct roles: the Fab and Fc. The Fab is unique in each antibody and specifically detects a target. Importantly, the Fc portion is common to all antibodies. Our focus is on activating the immune system through the antibody’s Fc portion – the part that initiates or controls the effector responses.

Our discoveries of how to transform the immune activation responses in one antibody can transform the action of all. This has broad implications for new treatments across cancer, inflammation and infectious diseases.