Fungal infections can be life threatening, particularly in immune compromised patients. Gamma interferon activates immune cells to fight fungal infections and directly inhibits growth of certain types of cancer cells. Gamma interferon products are used to treat chronic granulomatous disease and malignant osteopetrosis, generating annual sales of about $100 million. BBT-046, our long-acting, site-specific PEGylated gamma interferon analog, has proven significantly more effective than gamma interferon in animal disease models such as inhibiting growth of human cancer cells in athymic mice.
