CytoDyn is in late-stage clinical development of leronlimab, a CCR5 receptor antagonist, to be used as a platform drug for various therapeutic indications, including NASH, NASH/HIV, oncology, and HIV. The CCR5 receptor is a protein located on the surface of various cells including white blood cells, stellate cells which produce scar tissue in the liver, cells that undergo malignant transformation, and is the predominant co-receptor needed for certain strains of HIV to infect healthy T-cells. The CCR5 receptor serves as a receptor for chemical attractants called chemokines. Chemokines are the key orchestrators of leukocyte trafficking by attracting immune cells to the sites of inflammation.
Leronlimab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that is a once-a-week subcutaneous injection that can also be administered intravenously. Leronlimab is a competitive rather than allosteric inhibitor of the CCR5 receptor. This mechanism of action of binding competitively to the CCR5 receptor differentiates leronlimab from all other CCR5 antagonists.
