Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) stimulates production of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell important for fighting bacterial infections. Recombinant G-CSF products have annual sales of about $6 billion, primarily for use of the proteins to treat chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (low numbers of neutrophils) in cancer patients, which increases the patient’s risk of developing severe bacterial infections and requiring expensive hospitalization. BBT-015 is a long acting, site-specific PEGylated G-CSF analog that stimulates faster neutrophil recovery than other G-CSF products in an animal model of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, and significantly improves survival in animal models of acute radiation syndrome. We initiated testing of BBT-015 in human clinical trials in July 2017.
