BG136

BG136 is a β-1,3/1,6-glucan polysaccharide derived from the Antarctic brown seaweed Durvillaea antarctica. It is being developed as an injectable anticancer drug and has demonstrated both innate and adaptive immune-stimulating properties. Mechanistically, BG136 increases macrophage phagocytosis, enhances cytokine and chemokine secretion, modulates systemic and intratumoral immune cell composition, and reprograms the tumor microenvironment to be more proinflammatory. It acts primarily by binding to Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) on macrophages—triggering TLR4-mediated signaling pathways including NF-κB activation—and can potentiate the antitumor effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-PD-1 antibodies. Preclinical studies show that it also promotes beneficial changes in gut microbiota when administered orally. BG136 is under clinical investigation for solid tumors including colon cancer[1][2][4][5][6].

Other names

β-1,3/1,6-glucan from Durvillaea antarctica