Is lpilimumab a targeted drug or an immune drug?

Ipilimumab (Ipilimumab) is an immunotherapy drug, specifically an immune checkpoint inhibitor. Immunotherapy drugs are a class of drugs designed to enhance or adjust a patient's immune system to fight diseases such as cancer. They are very different from traditional targeted drugs in their mechanisms and modes of action.

Ipilimumab’s mechanism of action is to enhance the immune system’s attack on cancer cells by inhibiting the immune checkpoint molecule CTLA-4 (cytotoxicTlymphocyte antigen4). This mechanism is completely different from the way targeted drugs work. Here are some details about ipilimumab as an immunotherapy drug:

1.Immune checkpoint inhibitors: Ipilimumab belongs to a class of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Their function is to relieve the inhibitory mechanism in the immune system, thereby enhancing immune cells' recognition and attack of cancer cells. CTLA-4 is a protein that negatively regulates immune responses. Inhibiting it can enhance the activity of the immune system.

2.Immune enhancement: The use of ipilimumab is designed to make the patient's immune system better able to fight tumor cells. Rather than directly interfering with cancer cells' growth signals, it helps the body defeat cancer by boosting the immune system's response.

3.Widely used: Ipilimumab is commonly used to treat malignant melanoma, a type of skin cancer, and advanced colorectal cancer, which are often difficult to cure with traditional therapies.

4.Adverse reactions: Although ipilimumab can show significant anti-tumor effects in some patients, it may also cause immune-related adverse reactions, including immune dermatitis, immune thyroiditis, gastrointestinal reactions, etc. Therefore, its use requires careful monitoring and management.

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 about 12,000 yuan, and the specifications are 50mg/10ml; Bristol-Myers Squibb original drug price is about 11,700 yuan, and the specification is also 50mg/10ml. The ingredients of the two drugs are the same.