A New Era of Cancer Immunotherapy
Cachexia, a devastating condition accompanying late-stage cancer, remains one of the most complex and unmet challenges in oncology. Characterized by extreme weight loss, muscle wasting, and immune system dysfunction, cachexia not only diminishes patients’ quality of life but also compromises their ability to tolerate and respond to life-saving treatments like chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Despite its prevalence, cachexia lacks an FDA-approved therapy, leaving millions of patients vulnerable to accelerated disease progression and reduced survival. Current cancer therapies fail to address the immune dysregulation that drives cachexia, limiting their effectiveness and leaving patients without a lifeline in their battle against cancer.
Confronting Cachexia
Akexis’ initial studies indicate that cachexia can be safely reversed with AKX001, Akexis’s patented small molecule treatment. Our groundbreaking immunomodulator, reverses cachexia and increases survival by addressing key underlying mechanisms:
Preserving Tissue Integrity: AKX001 reduces inflammatory cytokines and STAT3 activation, preventing severe tissue atrophy and destruction.
Strengthening Immune Defense: By preventing cancer-induced lymphopenia, AKX001 maintains the body’s ability to fight cancer and improves the efficacy of anti-tumor treatments.
This multifaceted approach empowers patients with advanced cancer to better tolerate and respond to anti-tumor therapies.
Our Breakthrough Approach
Scientific Presentations & Publications
Effect of ketorolac on serum GDF-15 and IL-8 in patients with pancreatic cancer with cachexia.
Presented at the 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, January 23-25, 2025 Authors: Abrahm Levi, Matthew Ebia, Talya Geller, Keith Jorgensen, Lingbing Zhang, Arsen Osipov, Jun Gong, Andrew Hendifar
https://meetings.asco.org/abstracts-presentations/241654
Treating Cancer Cachexia Should Be Essential in Cancer Care.
Preprints 2024, 2024111093.
https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202411.1093.v1
Immune System Disorder and Cancer-Associated Cachexia.
Cancers (Basel). 2024 Apr 27;16(9):1709
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11083538/
A New Study Uncovering the Cause of Health Deterioration and Mortality in Late-stage Cancer Patients.
J Cancer Immunol. 2024;6(3):119-124.
https://www.scientificarchives.com/public/assets/articles/article-pdf-1727376146-1260.pdf
R-ketorolac ameliorates cancer-associated cachexia and prolongs survival of tumor-bearing mice.
J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2024 Apr;15(2):562-574.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38302863/
What kills patients with severe Covid-19 might also kill patients with terminal cancer. [abstract]
Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Meeting: COVID-19 and Cancer; 2020 Jul 20-22. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2020;26(18_Suppl)
https://aacrjournals.org/clincancerres/article/26/18_Supplement/PO-070/202445/Abstract-PO-070-What-kills-patients-with-severe
Tumor-induced immune disorder: the root cause of cancer cachexia and therapeutic target [abstract]
Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy; 2022 Oct 21-24; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2022;10(12 Suppl)
https://aacrjournals.org/cancerimmunolres/article/10/12_Supplement/A11/711280/Abstract-A11-Tumor-induced-immune-disorder-the
Treatment of systemic inflammation significantly improves survival in a murine model that recapitulates the rapid health deterioration of advanced cancer [abstract].
Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl)
https://aacrjournals.org/cancerres/article/80/16_Supplement/5590/644141/Abstract-5590-Treatment-of-systemic-inflammation
A new cancer cachexia animal model substantiates the causative relationship between cachexia and systemic inflammation.
Abstracts of the Cancer Cachexia Conference, Boston, USA, 21–23 September 2012. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 3, 281–301
On this page you may select links to key publications from peer-reviewed journals as well as to materials presented at scientific conferences relating to Akexis’s research and development of its product candidates. Investigational products and their uses mentioned on this website have not been determined safe and effective by the relevant regulatory authorities, including the US Food and Drug Administration or other applicable agencies in other countries. The content of each work is the property of the respective copyright holder and may not be further distributed without their express permission. The information in these materials may not be current or comprehensive, and Akexis undertakes no obligation to correct or update such information.