CD38 Targeted Therapies
3 drugsAbout CD38
CD38, or Cyclic ADP Ribose Hydrolase, is an enzyme involved in various biological processes. It has emerged as a significant drug target, particularly in oncology, due to its role in cell signaling and immune regulation.
Human genetic studies provide strong support for CD38 as a therapeutic target (max score 0.76), with variants linked to Parkinson's disease (score 0.76) and other conditions. This genetic evidence strengthens the rationale for therapeutic intervention.
CD38 is targeted by 3 FDA-approved drugs, including DARZALEX, SARCLISA, and DARZALEX FASPRO, spanning biologics and antibodies. These drugs, developed by Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi, are primarily used in oncology.
CD38 Genetic Evidence Strong
CD38 has strong genetic support with a maximum score of 0.76 linked to Parkinson's disease.
Strong genetic support suggests higher probability of clinical success, warranting further investment.
Evidence Across Diseases
10 totalGWAS and other genetic studies link CD38 to 10 diseases.
🔗 Colocalization Evidence 20 strong
max H4: 1.00eQTL/pQTL signals for CD38 colocalize with these GWAS traits, providing causal evidence that gene expression changes drive disease risk.
Understanding these scores
Association Score (0-1): Combines all evidence types (genetic, literature, drugs, animal models). Higher = more evidence linking target to disease. This is a ranking heuristic, not a confidence score.
L2G Score: Open Targets uses a machine learning model (Locus-to-Gene) to predict which gene is causal at each GWAS locus. L2G=0.5 means ~50% probability of being the causal gene. Only associations with L2G > 0.05 are included.
Odds Ratio (OR): From gene burden studies (UK Biobank, AstraZeneca PheWAS). Measures how loss-of-function variants affect disease risk. OR<1 = protective (inhibiting target may help), OR>1 = risk (losing function causes disease).
Beta (β): Effect size for continuous traits. β<0 = protective, β>0 = risk.
Clinical Translation (~1.8x): Based on Nelson et al. 2015: drug targets with genetic evidence have ~2x higher success rates in clinical trials. We estimate: Strong support (score ≥0.7) → ~1.8x, Moderate (0.3-0.7) → ~1.3x, Weak → baseline.
Colocalization (H4): Tests whether a GWAS signal and an eQTL/pQTL signal share the same causal variant. H4 is the posterior probability that both traits are associated AND share a causal variant. H4 > 0.8 = strong evidence that gene expression/protein levels drive disease risk. This links genetic variation → gene expression → disease, supporting the target-disease connection.
Top CD38 Drugs
Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi are the primary companies with approved CD38-targeting drugs.
High market concentration suggests significant barriers to entry; consider partnership or novel approach.
CD38 Drug Modality Landscape
Modalities
Routes of Administration
CD38 requires biologic approaches (biologic (other)), likely due to its structure or location.
Explore small molecule or alternative modalities to differentiate from existing biologics.
📈 Modality Evolution
Antibodies pioneered CD38 targeting (2015), with other biologics entering more recently (2020).
CD38 Clinical Trials 428 trials
Phase 1-4 trials started in 2008 or later that test an FDA-approved drug acting on CD38. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov. How we count
Completion by Phase
| Phase | Total | Completed | Stopped | Active | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 125 | 48 | 30 | 47 | 62% |
| Phase 2 | 208 | 41 | 32 | 135 | 56% |
| Phase 3 | 85 | 19 | 4 | 62 | 83% |
| Phase 4 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 100% |
Top Sponsors
By Modality
Top Conditions
Top Drugs
Phase 3 Readout Calendar Pro
8 Phase 3 trials testing approved CD38 drugs across all sponsors.
Coverage: trials whose intervention is an approved drug targeting CD38. Pre-approval candidates with development codes (e.g. AZD0901, MK-7240) are not yet linked. Anchored on CT.gov primary completion date.
CD38 Drug Approval Timeline (2015 - 2020)
The first CD38-targeting drug was approved in 2015, with the most recent approval in 2020.
Relatively recent approvals indicate continued interest and potential for further development in this area.
Pro Intelligence Preview
Deep insights for drug target analysis
Competitive Landscape
- • 2 companies competing
- • Market share by company
Full Drug Portfolio
- • All 3 approved drugs
- • Approval dates & indications
Genetic Validation
- • Full genetic evidence table
- • Effect sizes & directions
Approval Timeline
- • Full 3-drug timeline
- • First-of-modality markers
Clinical Trials Analysis
- • Sponsors: 178 (46 companies)
- • Completion rates by condition
Full summary • All drugs • Genetic evidence • Trials • Timeline
How We Count Trials
- Trials: phase 1-4 interventional trials on ClinicalTrials.gov that started in 2008 or later and test an FDA-approved drug acting on CD38. A trial counts if an approved drug acting on CD38 is in any arm, including as a comparator, and a trial that tests two such drugs counts once. Trials that test only unapproved drugs are not counted. A trial listed as phase 1/2 counts as phase 1, and phase 2/3 as phase 2.
- Active: recruiting, not yet recruiting, enrolling by invitation, or active and no longer recruiting.
- Completion rate: of the trials that have ended, the share marked Completed rather than Terminated or Withdrawn. Completed means the trial ended as planned; it does not mean the drug worked. Suspended trials are not counted as ended.
- Stopped: terminated or withdrawn. Trials stop for many reasons, including slow enrolment and business decisions, not only safety or efficacy.
- Sponsors: the lead sponsor of each trial. Companies are the sponsors ClinicalTrials.gov classes as industry; the rest are universities, hospitals, cooperative groups, government bodies and individuals.