CD40 and CD40L: a versatile target as co-stimulator in cancer and for antagonism in autoimmune diseases – a pipeline review

STUTTGART, Germany I September 09, 2025 I La Merie Publishing announced the release of its newest product offering reviewing the pipeline of active CD40 agonists and CD40/L antagonists in R&D: Pipeline of CD40 Agonists and CD40/L Antagonists.

This competitive intelligence report about CD40 Agonists and CD40/L Antagonists provides an up-to-date competitor evaluation in the field of antibodies, proteins and cells in research and development targeting CD40 or its ligand CD40L. This report will be prepared on demand within one working day upon order placement. The report lists active CD40/L targeted R&D programs by R&D phase in a tabular format and describes in brief the profile of CD40 agonists and CD40/L antagonists by drug modality. The report will be provided in pdf format and sent by e-mail to the customer.

As an example of this category of on demand reports, please see our free sample report of “Pipeline of 5T4-Targeted Immunotherapies”.

The transmembrane protein receptor CD40, also known as TNFSFR5 (tumor necrosis factor super family receptor 5) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor super family and is involved in co-stimulation of immune cells. CD40 is expressed by antigen-presenting cells (APCs) including dendritic cells (DCs), B-cells, macrophages, and monocytes. It has the ability to “wake” DCs to prime effective cytotoxic T-cell responses. Binding of an anti-CD40 antibody to CD40 on antigen presenting cells (i.e., dendritic cells, monocytes and B-cells) is believed to initiate a multi-faceted immune response that enables multiple components of the immune system (e.g., T cells, macrophages) to work in concert against cancer.

CD40 is an important target for immunotherapy, as it plays a critical role in the activation of innate and adaptive immune responses. Effective CD40-targeted antibodies provide an ideal therapy alternative in combination with other immuno-oncology (IO) antibodies.

When delivered systemically, CD40 agonists have produced adverse events that may limit their use. A number of novel CD40 targeting biologics are in preclinical and clinical development using various constructs (multimeric, bispecific, targeted delivery) to overcome systemic safety issues by limiting activation to the tumor microenvironment.

The ligand of CD40, known as CD154 or CD40L, is a type II transmembrane protein that is constitutively expressed on hematopoietic cells such as dendritic cells, macrophages, and B cells. Engagement of CD40 by CD40L expressed on T cells results in the production of proinflammatory cytokines, induces T helper cell function, and promotes macrophage activation. The involvement of CD40 in chronic immune activation has resulted in CD40 being proposed as a therapeutic target for a range of chronic inflammatory diseases. CD40 antagonists are currently being explored for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

The report “Pipeline of CD40 Agonists and CD40/L Antagonists” can be acquired at La Merie Publishing’s online store: https://lamerie.com/report/pipeline-of-cd40-agonists-and-cd40-l-antagonists/

About La Merie Publishing

La Merie Publishing is an independent business information provider for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. La Merie Publishing prepares brief and full reports. La Merie Publishing products can be purchased in the online store www.lamerie.com and from selected Resellers.

La Merie Publishing offers the service of custom report preparation for corporate clients, including, but not limited to, customized reports about target evaluation, pipeline analysis, technology assessments, drug and competitor profiles, partnering and business deal terms and any other competitive intelligence elaboration of interest.

Among La Merie Publishing’s services are the pre-scoped evaluation of customer-selected targets for drug discovery: Target Evaluation for Drug Discovery: Pre-Scoped Premium Evaluation and the pre-scoped review of the pipeline of immunotherapies against customer-selected targets: Pipeline Review of Customer-Selected Targeted Immunotherapies: Pre-Scoped Competitor Analysis.

SOURCE: La Merie Publishing