Abstract
The human complement system constitutes a Janus-faced part of our immune machinery, which confers rapid protection against microbial intruders but can quickly turn against the host and contribute to inflammatory, immune-, age- and foreign body-related clinical complications The defence–offence profile often tilts unfavourably during ageing, traumatic insults or genetic dysregulation of the cascade. The list of disorders with known complement contribution is growing constantly, and with it the incentive to control complement activation therapeutically(–). Since the introduction of complement-specific drugs in 2007, and the generally positive experience in the clinic, the interest in developing new therapeutic inhibitors has been growing constantly and has led to a cornucopious pipeline(–). While the clinically available arsenal is currently limited to a few targets and mostly orphan and rare indications, it is expected that the recently sparked confidence and commercial interest will soon lead to a significant broadening of treatment options and, consequently, clinical conditions in which complement-targeted drugs will be applied. New frontiers, such as applications in the therapy of cancer or neurological diseases are already on the horizon(,).