Christine Lacroix

Christine Lacroix has been central to the development of bintrafusp alfa (M7824), a first-in-class bifunctional fusion protein combining an anti-PD-L1 antibody with a TGF-beta receptor II extracellular domain that simultaneously blocks PD-L1 immune checkpoint and traps TGF-beta in the tumor microenvironment. Her research demonstrated that dual targeting of TGF-beta and PD-L1 produces synergistic anti-tumor immunity by simultaneously relieving immune suppression through two complementary mechanisms. She showed that bintrafusp alfa preferentially accumulates in TGF-beta-rich tumors, providing targeted TGF-beta neutralization. Her work established the bifunctional protein platform as a new paradigm for combination immunotherapy in a single molecule.