Co-Inhibition Of Il-2, Il-9 And Il-15 By The Novel Immunomodulator, Bnz-1, Provides Clinical Efficacy In Patients With Refractory Cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma In A Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial

Background: Cutaneous T cell lymphoma is incurable with current standard therapies and there is an urgent need for more effective therapies. BNZ-1 is a pegylated peptide antagonist that binds to the common gamma chain signaling receptor for cytokines IL-2, IL-9 and IL-15. We hypothesized that inhibition of these 3 cytokines could generate a therapeutic benefit to CTCL patients through a multipronged mechanism: 1) IL-2 and IL-15 inhibition blocks cytokine-driven propagation/survival of tumor cells 2) IL-2 and IL-9 inhibition lowers the activity of regulatory T-cells that may impede the anti-lymphoma immune response 3) IL-15 inhibition may provide an additional anti-inflammatory effect