Cambridge, MA (Press Release) – Surface Oncology (NASDAQ: SURF), a clin­i­cal-stage immuno-oncology com­pany devel­op­ing next-generation immuno­therapies that target the tumor micro­en­viron­ment, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Admin­istra­tion (FDA) has granted orphan drug desig­na­tion to the com­pany’s lead inves­ti­ga­tional can­di­date SRF231 for the treat­ment of patients with multiple myeloma. SRF231 is a fully human anti­body that inhibits the activity of CD47, a protein overexpressed on many types of cancer cells which prevents them from being engulfed and elim­i­nated by macrophages.

“While the poten­tial appli­ca­tions for SRF231 in on­col­ogy are quite broad, …