Cutting-Edge Science
Our Approach
Our focus is on overcoming checkpoint resistance by blocking TGF-β activation, a key driver in cancer progression, in the tumor microenvironment in patients with solid tumors that are resistant to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Integrins are cell surface proteins that are normally expressed at very low levels, but in certain diseases have been shown to be upregulated and to cause the continuous activation of TGF-ß. Pliant has applied its deep understanding of integrin biology, medicinal chemistry and translational medicine expertise to develop a set of proprietary tools to discover candidates to inhibit this pathway.
Our Platform
Pliant has developed an industry-leading proprietary platform to probe the molecular drivers of disease. This platform enables the screening of newly identified targets to create a deep well of potential drug candidates.
Our platform consists of a proprietary library of over 15,000 integrin binding molecules, a comprehensive screening assay system (binding, integrin confirmation, ligand-induced internalization) and an industry-leading live human tissue program. We believe our platform may be broadly applicable across multiple disease areas including delivery of drug payloads to cells utilizing integrin receptor-binding molecules as tissue-specific delivery and internalization mechanisms.
Our Publications
Our team has unmatched expertise in integrin biology, and we value sharing our knowledge. We regularly publish and present our research in a variety of forums to advance the discovery of novel targeted therapies to finish fibrosis. Read our publications.
