# Visugromab

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

## TL;DR

Visugromab is CatalYm's antibody against GDF-15, a tumour-made signal that both blocks immune cells and causes cancer wasting; it is in a phase 3 trial with PD-1 blockade after durable responses in patients whose cancers had stopped responding to checkpoint inhibitors.

## Summary

CatalYm, a Munich biotech, developed visugromab (CTL-002) after showing that GDF-15 secreted by tumours prevents T cells from entering them. In the GDFATHER trials it produced durable responses with nivolumab in patients with checkpoint-refractory cancers, and the same molecule is being studied for cancer-associated cachexia, since GDF-15 acts on the brainstem to suppress appetite. A phase 3 trial is registered.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: phase-3
- Last checked: 2026-09-16
- Tags: pipeline; ctgov-ingest
- Code: CTL-002
- Modality: Anti-GDF-15 monoclonal antibody, intravenous
- Mechanism: Neutralises growth differentiation factor 15, a cytokine many tumours secrete that keeps T cells out of the tumour and drives cachexia; blocking it is meant to restore immune infiltration and reverse weight loss.

## Sources

- ClinicalTrials.gov: trials of Visugromab: https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?intr=CTL-002

## Connected records

- technologies: [Immune checkpoint inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/)
- trials: [First-in-Human Study of the GDF-15 Neutralizing Antibody Visugromab (CTL-002) in Patients With Advanced Cancer (GDFATHER)](https://onco.cc/trials/nct04725474/), [Trial Investigating Visugromab and Nivolumab With or Without Docetaxel in 2L Treatment of Participants With Metastatic NSCLC](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07246863/), [Trial Investigating Visugromab in Combination With Immunochemotherapy in 1L Treatment of Participants With Metastatic NSCLC](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07098988/), [Visugromab in Cachexia International Trial](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07112196/), [Visugromab, Nivolumab and Lenvatinib Compared to Double Placebo and Lenvatinib in Unresectable or Metastatic Hepatocellular Carcinoma Post Anti-PD-(L)](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07219459/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/visugromab.json