Naxitamab

Naxitamab (humanized 3F8, hu3F8) is an IgG1 monoclonal antibody directed against the oncofetal differentiation antigen GD2 disialoganglioside. Normally expressed during fetal development and in mature neurons, pain fibers, and skin cells, GD2 constitutes a highly efficient target in the treatment of neuroblastoma - it is widely expressed across and within neuroblastomas (and other neuroectodermal tumors), and is rarely subject to antigen loss. The first anti-GD2-monoclonal IgG antibody to be approved by the FDA for the treatment of neuroblastoma was dinutuximab under the brand name Unituxin in 2015. One stark disadvantage of this therapy is the requirement for concurrent use of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and 13-cis-retinoic acid (RA). Naxitamab-gqgk (Danyelza) was granted accelerated approval by the FDA in November 2020 for the treatment of high-risk relapsed/refractory neuroblastoma of the bone or bone marrow. This approval requires naxitamab to be co-administered only with GM-CSF, a factor known to enhance the granulocyte-mediated antibody-dependent cytotoxicity of anti-GD2 therapies, making the administration of naxitamab therapy markedly simpler than that of its predecessor.