Forty Seven Inc. and Genentech work together for Leukemia and Bladder Cancer

Forty Seven Inc., a clinical-stage company focused on developing the next generation of transformational immuno-oncology treatments to enable patient's immune systems to defeat their cancer.

The company has announced an agreement with Genentech Inc., a member of the Roche Group.

The agreement for Genentech to sponsor two clinical trials combining Forty Seven's CD47 antibody, Hu5F9-G4, with Genentech's PD-L1 antibody, atezolizumab (TECENTRIQ), in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and with urothelial (bladder) cancer. 

CD47 is an immune modulator molecule overexpressed on cancer cells that sends inhibitory signals to macrophages.

Binding of Hu5F9-G4 to CD47 takes the brakes off macrophages enabling them to phagocytose, or swallow, tumor cells.