Quote:MSS is not tnbc though. so at least for MSS, BP wouldn't make a move just because PD-L1 is upregulated.
I see it completely differently. Big Pharma is actively hunting for mssCRC treatments specifically when PD-L1 upregulation occurs—provided it's driven by a mechanism that transforms the tumor from "cold" to "hot."
Viewing PD-L1 through a traditional lens—and assuming an increase in expression is meaningless simply because mssCRC has historically ignored checkpoint inhibitors—completely misses the biological shift at play here. In an immune-cold tumor, raw PD-L1 expression is irrelevant because T-cells cannot breach the tumor microenvironment. However, if leronlimab’s CCR5 blockade is actively turning that tumor "hot" by flooding it with infiltrating T-cells, that PD-L1 upregulation becomes a flashing neon sign. It indicates that the tumor is finally primed and vulnerable to an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI).
Consider the macro landscape: Big Pharma is staring down massive patent cliffs on multi-billion-dollar ICI blockbusters. They are aggressively searching for a "combination backbone" capable of unlocking the 95% of colorectal cancer patients who are MSS and currently untouchable by immunotherapy. If this open-label trial demonstrates profound PD-L1 upregulation paired with rapid ctDNA clearance via Natera, Big Pharma will recognize leronlimab as the missing key to an entirely untapped, multi-billion-dollar market. They won't sit on their hands; they will move aggressively to secure it before a competitor shuts them out of the MSS space entirely.
While I personally hope for a strategic partnership to unlock CYDY shareholder value rather than a premature "FOMO" buyout, we have to acknowledge how hyper-competitive the oncology market is. Because this is an open-label trial, multiple suitors could be sitting in a virtual data room under NDAs right now. If they are watching live Natera telemetry prove early, rapid molecular clearance in an aggressive, cold tumor population, they are going to react.
Waiting for slow, traditional radiographic RECIST data takes months. Doing so allows rival pharma giants to see the same signal, inevitably sparking a massive, public bidding war. Moving early on validated Natera data lets a savvy acquirer lock down a blockbuster asset before the rest of the market forces the price through the roof. Time will tell, but without a doubt, positive developments are on the horizon for long-term shareholders.
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