BLR Bio's CCN base peptide drugs show properties that could enhance Immuno-oncology/PD1 therapeutic effectiveness

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. - July 21, 2025 - PRLog -- BLR Bio is advancing a portfolio of first-in-class therapies designed to halt and potentially reverse the progression of fibrosis and cancer.

Recent research highlights that the company's peptides can down-regulate CCN1 proteins, as demonstrated through in vivo experiments recently presented at Canadian Skin Research Conference. These cell regulatory proteins are known to contribute to resistance against cancer therapies and the immune system. The findings suggest that these novel drugs could serve as front-line treatments when combined with immunotherapy and chemotherapy for solid tumor cancers.

"A study recently published in the Advanced Science Journal (1) demonstrated that blocking CCN1 proteins significantly enhances the efficacy of immunotherapy (PD-1 inhibitors), chemotherapy, and their combined use in an animal model of pancreatic cancer," said Dr. Bruce Riser, CEO of BLR Bio. "BLR peptides could be instrumental in overcoming the limited effectiveness of PD-1 inhibitors in various cancers," he added.

BLR Bio's own research, published in Cells (2), showed that the company's therapeutic peptides increased the effectiveness of chemotherapy (gemcitabine) in animal studies of pancreatic cancer. These findings fuel expectations that the peptide drugs could also enhance the efficacy of immunotherapies.

Pancreatic Cancer is a devastating disease. The American Cancer society estimates about 67,440 people (34,950 men and 32,490 women) will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2025 and approximately 51,980 people (27,050 men and 24,930 women) will die of pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, there is a continuing large medical need for improved therapies for the disease.

While CCN1 proteins have been demonstrated to play an important role in pancreatic cancer, they are also implicated in other solid tumors including gastric, colon, breast and bladder cancer, applications that will be explored by the company.

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References:

(1) CCN1 Enhances Tumor Immunosuppression through Collagen-Mediated
Chemokine Secretion in Pancreatic Cancer, Fan et al. Adv Sci 2025 Apr 27

(2) . CCN-Based Therapeutic Peptides Modify Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Microenvironment and Decrease Tumor Growth in Combination with Chemotherapy  Andrea Resovi et al.  Cells. 2020 Apr 13;9(4):952