What is the target of lpilimumab?

The target of Ipilimumab (Ipilimumab) isCTLA-4, which is called Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte AntigenTLymphocyte Antigen4 4). CTLA-4 is a protein located on the surface of T lymphocytes. It plays an important role in regulating the activity of the immune system.

CTLA-4 is an immune checkpoint molecule, a biological switch that controls activation and suppression of the immune system. These molecules ensure that the immune system remains balanced in response to infections and other threats, preventing overactivation of the immune system leading to autoimmune diseases.

In some cases, however, cancer cells can useCTLA-4 to evade immune system attack. CTLA-4can competitively bind to the B7 molecule on the cell surface, which is a signaling molecule on the surface of immune cells and is used to activate T lymphocytes. When CTLA-4 binds to B7, it inhibits the activity of T lymphocytes and reduces the immune system's attack on cancer cells. This suppression is sometimes called immunosuppression because it blocks immune cells from recognizing and attacking cancer cells.

Ipilimumab’s mechanism of action is to break this immunosuppression by inhibitingCTLA-4. Ipilimumab binds to CTLA-4, preventing it from binding to B7 and thereby preventing CTLA-4’s inhibitory effect. This allows T lymphocytes to attack cancer cells more freely, increasing the immune system's resistance to cancer.

Ipilimumab is not currently available in China, so patients cannot purchase it domestically and can only purchase it through overseas purchase channels. There are only original drugs of Ipilimumab abroad, mainly Turkish original drugs and Bristol-Myers Squibb original drugs. The price of Turkish original drugs is around 12,000 yuan, and the specification is 50mg/10ml; Bristol-Myers Squibb's original drug costs about 11,700 yuan, and its specifications are also 50mg/10ml. The ingredients of the two drugs are the same.