pexelizumab

Pexelizumab is a humanized, recombinant single-chain monoclonal antibody fragment that targets complement component 5 (C5). It was developed as an immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory agent to reduce tissue injury associated with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), particularly in the context of myocardial infarction and cardiac surgery involving cardiopulmonary bypass. By binding to C5, pexelizumab inhibits its cleavage into C5a and C5b-9 (the membrane attack complex), thereby blocking downstream proinflammatory effects such as leukocyte activation, apoptosis, and tissue damage. The drug was primarily investigated for reducing complications following acute myocardial infarction and during cardiac surgery but failed to show efficacy in phase 3 trials and development was discontinued[1][2][3][4][6].