molecules of the month

7. The Arbutus PD-L1 inhibitor ARB-272572 is a preclinical molecule that potently induces PD-L1 dimerization and internalization and demonstrates oral activity (10 mg/kg QD) in a humanized mouse model. Biologic PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have had incredible success as cancer immunotherapy agents, and there has been significant accompanying interest in small molecule inhibitors. Given the crowdedness of the field, however, the Arbutus team also makes the case that small molecule PD-L1 inhibitors could be useful in alternate settings such as chronic hepatitis B, and demonstrate activity in an in vitro HBV assay as well.