Boosting immunity: How James Moon and U-M are transforming cancer care
By Kelsey Keeves
When James Moon joined the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy in 2012, the field of immunotherapy was quickly evolving.
A year prior, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved the first immune checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy treatment for an advanced form of skin cancer, opening up a whole new landscape of possibilities for cancer treatment.
Checkpoint inhibitors are drugs that help the immune system recognize cancer as a threat to the body and “turn on” immune cells to begin attacking cancerous cells. The March 2011 FDA approval ushered in a new field of possible cancer treatments and created the perfect environment for Moon to establish a research lab at the crossroads of immunology, pharmaceutics and engineering.
“Ann Arbor has a very interdisciplinary research setting,” Moon said. “We have a very strong cancer center, medical school, as well as my own unit, the College of Pharmacy. So I felt this was a perfect place to settle my lab and do exciting research on how to improve patient response rates to immunotherapies. And ever since coming here, we’ve been doing a lot of collaborative work.”
When the first checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy drug was approved, only 5-30% patients responded to the treatments that were available. Moon’s mission was to improve those outcomes and find out how to utilize the body’s own immune system to improve responses against cancer, as well as other diseases.
“In my lab, we are always looking for new ways and new drugs, new therapeutics to improve patient outcomes,” said Moon, the J. G. Searle Professor and Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy and a professor of biomedical engineering in the Medical School and College of Engineering.
“Because our immune system is designed to protect against pathogens, we believe we can utilize our immune system to fight against many other diseases, including cancer. So my lab has been using drugs, as well as dietary fibers that can boost immune responses against various diseases, including cancer.”
Some of his early projects focused on “re-educating” the immune system to stop attacking the body’s own tissues and designing drug delivery that would be more effective in treating cancer and autoimmune diseases. With support from the U-M Innovation Partnership team, Moon has co-founded two startup companies based on these projects.
EVOQ Therapeutics, founded in 2016, creates immunotherapies that improve the lives of those with autoimmune diseases. and Saros Therapeutics, launched in 2021, develops novel therapies that harness or redirect the immune system to address needs in cancer patients.
His current research uses inulin, a natural fiber from plant roots, to form an edible gel similar to Greek yogurt. Inulin gel helps improve gut health by supporting beneficial gut bacteria and strengthening the intestinal barrier, which plays an important role in regulating the immune system. By boosting overall immune fitness, this approach can help the body respond more effectively to cancer immunotherapy, leading to stronger anti-tumor responses.
In various mouse models, inulin gel improved the anti-tumor efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. This led the research to an ongoing Phase II trial with his collaborator, Ulka Vaishampayan, the Beverly S. Mitchell M.D. Research Professor of Cancer Research and clinical professor of internal medicine.
Vaishampanyan is leading the trials in patients with kidney cancer and has already seen early signs of success.
“Because our immune system is designed to protect against pathogens, we believe we can utilize our immune system to fight against many other diseases, including cancer,” Moon said. “So my lab has been using drugs, as well as dietary fibers that can boost immune responses against various diseases, including cancer.”
Moon believes cancer treatment is just the beginning. While the current Phase II trial focuses on treating cancer, the insights gained from this research may also help guide strategies for cancer prevention in broader populations.
He is currently in the early stages of launching a third company to commercialize an inulin-based gel dietary supplement aimed at improving gut and immune health. The goal is to translate this research beyond clinical settings and make the fiber-based approach widely available to the public as part of preventative health strategies.
“You really need a good team to make your ideas into a reality, so having strong collaborators across the university is really what’s driving our progress in the lab. That’s what I love about Michigan.”
Moon and the University of Michigan have a financial interest in EVOQ Therapeutics, Inc. and Saros Therapeutics, Inc.