# Emapalumab

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/emapalumab/  
OnCo record `emapalumab` (Treatment). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Emapalumab switches off interferon gamma, the signal behind the runaway immune activation of haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a condition that can also be triggered by lymphoma and by CAR-T therapy.

## Summary

Emapalumab is a monoclonal antibody against interferon gamma, approved in the United States in 2018 for primary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) that is refractory, recurrent or progressive, or where conventional HLH therapy is not tolerated; the label was later extended to HLH and macrophage activation syndrome in Still's disease. HLH matters in oncology because lymphomas and CAR-T cell therapy can set it off, and treatment protocols borrow the etoposide and dexamethasone used for the primary form. Use of emapalumab in these secondary, cancer-linked forms is off label and reported in case series rather than trials.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: established
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Also known as: Emapalumab-lzsg; NI-0501
- Tags: gap-fill; supportive-care
- Brand: Gamifant
- Modality: Anti-interferon-gamma monoclonal antibody
- Mechanism: Binds free and receptor-bound interferon gamma and neutralises it, damping the macrophage and T-cell activation loop that drives haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.
- Approvals: US 2018: Primary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, refractory, recurrent or progressive, or intolerant of conventional therapy

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emapalumab
- Label (DailyMed): https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=emapalumab
- Drugs@FDA BLA 761107: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/index.cfm?event=overview.process&ApplNo=761107

## Connected records

- cancers: [Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/dlbcl/), [Erdheim-Chester disease, Rosai-Dorfman disease and other histiocytic neoplasms](https://onco.cc/cancers/histiocytoses/)
- fronts: [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- technologies: [CAR-T cell therapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/car-t/)
- companies: [Sobi (Swedish Orphan Biovitrum)](https://onco.cc/companies/sobi/)
- terms: [Cytokine release syndrome (CRS)](https://onco.cc/terms/crs/)

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