Investor Richard Aronow Urges Federal Officials to Review Leronlimab as Early Cancer Results Draw Attention

LA JOLLA, USA, November 14th, 2026, FinanceWire

Researchers saw a sharp drop in tumor DNA in blood samples from patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

Entrepreneur and investor Richard Aronow has written to federal officials urging them to take a closer look at leronlimab, an investigational antibody developed by CytoDyn, as early results from a colorectal cancer trial draw attention from researchers. In a Nov. 9 letter written on his own behalf, he asked for a faster path to approval, starting with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, and wider patient access while research continues. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved leronlimab for any use.

Two weeks after starting a three-drug regimen that included leronlimab, patients with paired blood samples showed a median 86 percent drop in circulating tumor DNA, according to results presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in October. The Phase 2 CLOVER trial enrolled 66 patients whose colorectal cancer had spread and who had already received other treatments.

Clinical Trial Findings and Patient Outcomes

Natera, the diagnostics company that measured tumor DNA using its Signatera blood test, compared an early group of CLOVER patients with patients in its database. Over the first four weeks, tumor DNA fell by a median of 93 percent in the group receiving leronlimab with two other drugs, compared with 55 percent in a separate group receiving those two drugs alone. Natera’s Reny Aniline called the results “pretty stunning” and said he and a colleague had never seen a tumor DNA response like it in metastatic cancer.

Dr. Pashtoon Kasi, the CLOVER trial’s principal investigator at City of Hope Orange County, said the benefit was “better than expected” in three patients at his site, making surgery possible after it had previously been ruled out. He said all three had no evidence of disease at the time of the update.

For Wina Peterson, getting access to leronlimab meant boarding a nearly empty plane during the pandemic. Her breast cancer had spread to her lung when she flew from Canada to San Francisco to see if she could join a trial. She went on to receive leronlimab and, through a separate trial, the immunotherapy atezolizumab. When The Columbian reported her story this spring, her husband said she was cancer-free and still receiving both treatments.

In a review of earlier trials involving metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, five of 28 patients were alive at five years. All five had also received immunotherapy. In colorectal cancer, the scans have shown a more modest response than the blood tests might suggest. Everyone in CLOVER received leronlimab, leaving open how much the drug contributed to the results and whether the changes will translate into longer lives.

Aronow Is Asking for a Closer Look

Aronow, an entrepreneur who has spent his career exploring emerging ideas and now writes about AI, points to a separate FDA initiative announced in April that uses an AI-powered platform to get safety and effectiveness findings from cancer trials to regulators while the studies are still underway.

Leronlimab drew public attention in 2016 after actor Charlie Sheen said tests found no detectable HIV in his blood while he was taking the drug in a clinical trial, a sign that the virus was suppressed, as HIV.gov explains. In 2025, Howie Mandel asked Sheen why the drug never reached the market, and suggested they “get to the bottom of this.”

“I agreed with Howie,” Aronow said. “I wanted to shine a light on this research because I want to help save lives.”

That exchange helped prompt his letter. The next day, CytoDyn announced two planned studies of leronlimab in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, the same type of cancer Aronow asked federal officials to prioritize. Leronlimab’s safety profile draws on more than 20 years of clinical data across several disease areas.

“I want the people reviewing this research to look at it with the same urgency they’d feel if someone they loved were waiting for another treatment option,” Aronow said.

About Richard Aronow

Richard Aronow is an entrepreneur, product creator and writer whose work has spanned consumer products, online education and media. His essays explore artificial intelligence, human agency and how emerging technologies are changing the way people think and make decisions. He holds an investment in CytoDyn, the developer of leronlimab. More information is available at richardaronow.com and on LinkedIn.

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