News

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) remains a major unmet need in cancer care, affecting about 1/3 of patients six months or more after finishing treatment.‍

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‍In a recently published preprint, our collaborator Andrea Hohmann at Indiana University and Abalone Bio report preclinical data on first-in-class CB2-specific antibody agonists for CIPN in paclitaxel-treated mouse models. The study shows that our CB2 antibody agonists reduced mechanical and cold hypersensitivity, with effects lasting ~48 hours post-dose and no development of tolerance with repeated dosing.‍

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‍Key findings include:‍

‍• CB2-dependent anti-allodynic effects confirmed using CB2 knockout mice‍

‍• Activity maintained in both tumor-free and tumor-bearing models‍

‍• No CNS impact on locomotor activity‍• Paclitaxel’s cytotoxic activity against tumor cells remained intact‍

‍• M1 macrophage markers and pro-inflammatory cytokines reduced in vitro‍

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‍Overall, our results suggest that CB2-specific antibody agonists are promising candidates for treating CIPN, providing lasting pain relief without tolerance, off target effects or unwanted CB1-mediated motor side effects.‍‍

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Read the preprint here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.26.690750v1