Science Matters: CD47 Pathway Links To CV Disease, New Drug Development Opportunities

Since the publication in Cell seven years ago of research suggesting a treatment strategy around inhibiting CD47 signaling on tumor cells, the focus has been on the molecule’s role in oncology drug development. New research shows how inhibiting this cell surface molecule, which helps immune cells distinguish between self and non-self, could be used to treat atherosclerosis by restoring the ability of macrophages and neighboring cells to gobble up plaque debris.

The 2009 paper from the laboratory of Irving Weissman at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and the group’s subsequent work with CD47 led to formation of the start-up Forty Seven Inc. With technology licensed from Stanford and two clinical trials already underway there, the company hit the ground running with $75 million in a Series A round in February 2016