Cancer Cachexia - Pipeline Insight, 2025

This “Cancer Cachexia - Pipeline Insight, 2025” report provides comprehensive insights about 15+ companies and 20+ pipeline drugs in Cancer Cachexia pipeline landscape. It covers the pipeline drug profiles, including clinical and nonclinical stage products. It also covers the therapeutics assessment by product type, stage, route of administration, and molecule type. It further highlights the inactive pipeline products in this space.

Cancer Cachexia: Understanding

Cancer Cachexia: Overview

Cancer cachexia is a complex, multifactorial syndrome characterized by ongoing loss of skeletal muscle mass - with or without loss of fat mass - that cannot be fully reversed by conventional nutritional support and leads to progressive functional impairment. It is most commonly seen in patients with advanced-stage malignancies, particularly pancreatic, gastric, lung, and colorectal cancers. Unlike starvation, cancer cachexia involves a systemic inflammatory response, altered metabolism, and reduced food intake, resulting in significant weight loss, muscle atrophy, and fatigue. The condition contributes substantially to morbidity and mortality in cancer patients, affecting treatment response, quality of life, and survival outcomes.

The pathophysiology of cancer cachexia is driven by a complex interplay between the tumor and host factors. Tumor-derived molecules (such as proteolysis-inducing factor or lipid-mobilizing factor) and host inflammatory cytokines (such as TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, and IFN-γ) play a central role in promoting catabolism over anabolism. These mediators interfere with the normal regulation of appetite, increase resting energy expenditure, and lead to enhanced breakdown of muscle and fat. This systemic inflammatory milieu contributes to the anorexia-cachexia cycle, in which decreased caloric intake and increased metabolic demands further exacerbate weight and muscle loss.

Clinically, cancer cachexia progresses through distinct stages: precachexia, cachexia, and refractory cachexia. In the early phase (precachexia), patients may experience minimal weight loss, anorexia, or metabolic alterations. This may advance to overt cachexia, characterized by significant muscle wasting and weight loss, often despite adequate caloric intake. In its final stage - refractory cachexia - the syndrome becomes unresponsive to treatment due to advanced cancer progression and poor performance status. Diagnosis is typically based on clinical criteria such as involuntary weight loss (e.g., >5% in 6 months), BMI thresholds, and evidence of sarcopenia.

Management of cancer cachexia is challenging and involves a multidisciplinary approach. While nutritional interventions are essential, they are usually insufficient on their own due to the underlying metabolic dysfunction. Pharmacological therapies such as appetite stimulants (e.g., megestrol acetate), anti-inflammatory agents, anabolic agents, and newer therapies targeting specific molecular pathways are under investigation or in use with variable success. Exercise and physical rehabilitation are also being incorporated to preserve muscle function. However, a curative approach remains elusive, highlighting the need for early detection and integrated care tailored to the stage and severity of cachexia.

"Cancer Cachexia - Pipeline Insight, 2025" report outlays comprehensive insights of present scenario and growth prospects across the indication. A detailed picture of the Cancer Cachexia pipeline landscape is provided which includes the disease overview and Cancer Cachexia treatment guidelines. The assessment part of the report embraces, in depth Cancer Cachexia commercial assessment and clinical assessment of the pipeline products under development. In the report, detailed description of the drug is given which includes mechanism of action of the drug, clinical studies, NDA approvals (if any), and product development activities comprising the technology, Cancer Cachexia collaborations, licensing, mergers and acquisition, funding, designations and other product related details.

Report Highlights
The companies and academics are working to assess challenges and seek opportunities that could influence Cancer Cachexia R&D. The therapies under development are focused on novel approaches to treat/improve Cancer Cachexia.

Cancer Cachexia Emerging Drugs Chapters

This segment of the Cancer Cachexia report encloses its detailed analysis of various drugs in different stages of clinical development, including phase III, II, II/III I, preclinical and Discovery. It also helps to understand clinical trial details, expressive pharmacological action, agreements and collaborations, and the latest news and press releases.

Cancer Cachexia Emerging Drugs

FDY-8801: Faraday Pharmaceuticals

FDY-8801, developed by Faraday Pharmaceuticals, is a therapeutic candidate targeting cachexia - a debilitating condition marked by severe muscle wasting. It belongs to a class of agents specifically designed to intervene in the progression of cachexia. Similarly, S-oxprenolol, under development by Actimed Therapeutics, is part of a novel class of anabolic-catabolic transforming agents (ACTAs). With a mechanism of action akin to ACM-001 (S-pindolol), S-oxprenolol demonstrates multi-modal pharmacology aimed at addressing the complex pathophysiology of cachexia. Preclinical studies have shown that S-oxprenolol significantly improves survival, body mass, and functional outcomes in models of cancer cachexia. As per the company pipeline the drug is in Phase II stage of its clinical trial for the treatment of Cancer Cachexia.

GFS202A: Genfleet Therapeutics (Shanghai) Inc.

GFS202A is a bispecific antibody developed by GenFleet Therapeutics (Shanghai) Inc. that targets both GDF15 and IL-6 - key mediators of cancer cachexia. It has shown strong preclinical efficacy, restoring body weight, muscle and adipose mass, and reducing inflammation in tumor-bearing models. The China NMPA approved its first Phase I trial in March 2025, now underway in multiple centers to evaluate safety, tolerability, PK, and preliminary impact on weight and appetite in cachectic cancer patients. Currently, the drug is in the Phase I stage of its development for the treatment of cancer cachexia.

EXT418: Extend Biosciences, Inc

EXT418 is an investigational candidate being developed by Extend Biosciences’ D-VITylation the company’s platform technology is truly enabling for this short-lived peptide as it increases the half-life and improves the bioavailability of the peptide in the body. Reversing the effects of cachexia will significantly improve a cancer patient’s quality of life and chance of survival, as well as decrease the need for hospitalizations, resulting in reduced healthcare costs. Efficacy studies are complete, and the compound is IND ready. Currently the drug candidate is in preclinical stage of development for the treatment of Cancer Cachexia.

Cancer Cachexia: Therapeutic Assessment

This segment of the report provides insights about the different Cancer Cachexia drugs segregated based on following parameters that define the scope of the report.

Major Players in Cancer Cachexia
There are approx. 15+ key companies which are developing the therapies for Cancer Cachexia. The companies which have their Cancer Cachexia drug candidates in the most advanced stage, i.e. Phase II include, Faraday Pharmaceuticals.

Phases
The report covers around 20+ products under different phases of clinical development, like:

• Late stage products (Phase III)
• Mid-stage products (Phase II)
• Early-stage product (Phase I) along with the details of:
• Pre-clinical and Discovery stage candidates
• Discontinued & Inactive candidates

Route of Administration
Cancer Cachexia pipeline report provides the therapeutic assessment of the pipeline drugs by the Route of Administration. Products have been categorized under various ROAs, such as:

• Intravenous
• Subcutaneous
• Oral
• Intramuscular

Molecule Type
Products have been categorized under various Molecule types, such as:

• Monoclonal antibody
• Small molecule
• Peptide

Product Type
Drugs have been categorized under various product types like Mono, Combination and Mono/Combination.

Cancer Cachexia: Pipeline Activities

The report provides insights into different therapeutic candidates in phase II, I, preclinical and discovery stage. It also analyses Cancer Cachexia therapeutic drugs key players involved in developing key drugs.

Development Activities

The report covers the detailed information of collaborations, acquisition and merger, licensing along with a thorough therapeutic assessment of emerging Cancer Cachexia drugs.

Cancer Cachexia Report Insights

• Cancer Cachexia Pipeline Analysis
• Therapeutic Assessment
• Unmet Needs
• Impact of Drugs

Cancer Cachexia Report Assessment

• Pipeline Product Profiles
• Therapeutic Assessment
• Pipeline Assessment
• Inactive drugs assessment
• Unmet Needs

Key Questions

Current Treatment Scenario and Emerging Therapies:

• How many companies are developing Cancer Cachexia drugs?
• How many Cancer Cachexia drugs are developed by each company?
• How many emerging drugs are in mid-stage, and late-stage of development for the treatment of Cancer Cachexia?
• What are the key collaborations (Industry-Industry, Industry-Academia), Mergers and acquisitions, licensing activities related to the Cancer Cachexia therapeutics?
• What are the recent trends, drug types and novel technologies developed to overcome the limitation of existing therapies?
• What are the clinical studies going on for Cancer Cachexia and their status?
• What are the key designations that have been granted to the emerging drugs?

Key Players

• Genfleet Therapeutics (Shanghai) Inc.
• Extend Biosciences
• Faraday Pharmaceuticals
• Actimed Therapeutics
• Pfizer
• NGM Biopharmaceuticals
• AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Key Products

• GFS202A
• EXT418
• FDY-8801
• ACM-001.1
• Ponsegromab
• NGM120
• AV-380

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