Advances in Bispecific Antibodies

A special issue of Antibodies (ISSN 2073-4468).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2016) | Viewed by 59943

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Guest Editor
Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland
Interests: immunotherapy of cancer; bispecific antibodies; T cell bispecific antibodies
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bispecific antibodies have been the focus of antibody engineers almost since the discovery of therapeutic antibodies. These antibodies offer plenty of possibilities for improving the properties of conventional antibodies. Based on the modular design of immunoglobulins, a huge “zoo” of different bispecific antibody formats has been developed in recent decades. However, for many years, the development of these bispecific antibodies for clinical trials has been slow, due to various issues, such as technical challenges with production and short half-lifes. Only now have a significant number of bispecific antibodies (based on different designs) reached the clinic. This Special Issue of "Antibodies" focuses on our progress with bispecific antibodies, with respect to engineering, therapeutic applications, and those bispecific antibodies in preclinical and clinical development.

Dr. Christian Klein
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • bispecific antibody
  • antibody engineering
  • T cell recruitment
  • immunotherapy

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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2855 KiB  
Article
Asymmetric Fc Engineering for Bispecific Antibodies with Reduced Effector Function
by Eric Escobar-Cabrera, Paula Lario, Jason Baardsnes, Joseph Schrag, Yves Durocher and Surjit Dixit
Antibodies 2017, 6(2), 7; https://doi.org/10.3390/antib6020007 - 16 May 2017
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 8473
Abstract
Asymmetric bispecific antibodies are a rapidly expanding therapeutic antibody class, designed to recognize two different target epitopes concurrently to achieve novel functions not available with normal antibodies. Many therapeutic designs require antibodies with reduced or silenced effector function. Although many solutions have been [...] Read more.
Asymmetric bispecific antibodies are a rapidly expanding therapeutic antibody class, designed to recognize two different target epitopes concurrently to achieve novel functions not available with normal antibodies. Many therapeutic designs require antibodies with reduced or silenced effector function. Although many solutions have been described in the literature to knockout effector function, to date all of them have involved the use of a specific antibody subtype (e.g., IgG2 or IgG4), or symmetric mutations in the lower hinge or CH2 domain of traditional homodimeric monospecific antibodies. In the context of a heterodimeric Fc, we describe novel asymmetric Fc mutations with reduced or silenced effector function in this article. These heteromultimeric designs contain asymmetric charged mutations in the lower hinge and the CH2 domain of the Fc. Surface plasmon resonance showed that the designed mutations display much reduced binding to all of the Fc gamma receptors and C1q. Ex vivo ADCC and CDC assays showed a consistent reduction in activity. Differential scanning calorimetry showed increased thermal stability for some of the designs. Finally, the asymmetric nature of the introduced charged mutations allowed for separation of homodimeric impurities by ion exchange chromatography, providing, as an added benefit, a purification strategy for the production of bispecific antibodies with reduced or silenced effector function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Bispecific Antibodies)
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2260 KiB  
Article
Development of PF-06671008, a Highly Potent Anti-P-cadherin/Anti-CD3 Bispecific DART Molecule with Extended Half-Life for the Treatment of Cancer
by Adam R. Root, Wei Cao, Bilian Li, Peter LaPan, Caryl Meade, Jocelyn Sanford, Macy Jin, Cliona O’Sullivan, Emma Cummins, Matthew Lambert, Alfredo D. Sheehan, Weijun Ma, Scott Gatto, Kelvin Kerns, Khetemenee Lam, Aaron M. D’Antona, Lily Zhu, William A. Brady, Susan Benard, Amy King, Tao He, Lisa Racie, Maya Arai, Dianah Barrett, Wayne Stochaj, Edward R. LaVallie, James R. Apgar, Kristine Svenson, Lidia Mosyak, Yinhua Yang, Gurunadh R. Chichili, Liqin Liu, Hua Li, Steve Burke, Syd Johnson, Ralph Alderson, William J. J. Finlay, Laura Lin, Stéphane Olland, William Somers, Ezio Bonvini, Hans-Peter Gerber, Chad May, Paul A. Moore, Lioudmila Tchistiakova and Laird Bloomadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Antibodies 2016, 5(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/antib5010006 - 4 Mar 2016
Cited by 73 | Viewed by 20346
Abstract
Bispecific antibodies offer a promising approach for the treatment of cancer but can be challenging to engineer and manufacture. Here we report the development of PF-06671008, an extended-half-life dual-affinity re-targeting (DART®) bispecific molecule against P-cadherin and CD3 that demonstrates antibody-like properties. [...] Read more.
Bispecific antibodies offer a promising approach for the treatment of cancer but can be challenging to engineer and manufacture. Here we report the development of PF-06671008, an extended-half-life dual-affinity re-targeting (DART®) bispecific molecule against P-cadherin and CD3 that demonstrates antibody-like properties. Using phage display, we identified anti-P-cadherin single chain Fv (scFv) that were subsequently affinity-optimized to picomolar affinity using stringent phage selection strategies, resulting in low picomolar potency in cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) killing assays in the DART format. The crystal structure of this disulfide-constrained diabody shows that it forms a novel compact structure with the two antigen binding sites separated from each other by approximately 30 Å and facing approximately 90° apart. We show here that introduction of the human Fc domain in PF-06671008 has produced a molecule with an extended half-life (-4.4 days in human FcRn knock-in mice), high stability (Tm1 > 68 °C), high expression (>1 g/L), and robust purification properties (highly pure heterodimer), all with minimal impact on potency. Finally, we demonstrate in vivo anti-tumor efficacy in a human colorectal/human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) co-mix xenograft mouse model. These results suggest PF-06671008 is a promising new bispecific for the treatment of patients with solid tumors expressing P-cadherin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Bispecific Antibodies)
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1540 KiB  
Article
Bispecific CD3/HER2 Targeting FynomAb Induces Redirected T Cell-Mediated Cytolysis with High Potency and Enhanced Tumor Selectivity
by Ulrich Wuellner, Kristina Klupsch, Fabian Buller, Isabella Attinger-Toller, Roger Santimaria, Irene Zbinden, Patricia Henne, Dragan Grabulovski, Julian Bertschinger and Simon Brack
Antibodies 2015, 4(4), 426-440; https://doi.org/10.3390/antib4040426 - 8 Dec 2015
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 11032
Abstract
CD3 bispecific therapies retargeting T cells to tumors have recently demonstrated striking activity in patients. Several CD3 bispecific antibodies directed against various tumor targets are currently being investigated in the clinic across different tumors. One limitation of these therapies is the risk of [...] Read more.
CD3 bispecific therapies retargeting T cells to tumors have recently demonstrated striking activity in patients. Several CD3 bispecific antibodies directed against various tumor targets are currently being investigated in the clinic across different tumors. One limitation of these therapies is the risk of target-related toxicity due to low-level expression of tumor antigen in normal tissue. In this study we have engineered a bispecific CD3/HER2 FynomAb, COVA420, which redirects T cells with high potency and selectivity to tumor cells with high HER2 expression in vitro and in vivo. COVA420 activity depends on high HER2 density as no activity was observed on cells with lower HER2 levels as found in human normal tissue. These results suggest that COVA420 may spare normal tissue expressing low levels of HER2 while still having uncompromised efficacy on tumor cells with high HER2 expression. This concept may be applied to other cancer antigens that otherwise cannot be targeted by T cell redirecting approaches, and may therefore expand the applicability of CD3 bispecific FynomAbs to a larger number of solid tumors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Bispecific Antibodies)
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Review

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1284 KiB  
Review
Taking up Cancer Immunotherapy Challenges: Bispecific Antibodies, the Path Forward?
by Joanie Del Bano, Patrick Chames, Daniel Baty and Brigitte Kerfelec
Antibodies 2016, 5(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/antib5010001 - 26 Dec 2015
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 18534
Abstract
As evidenced by the recent approvals of Removab (EU, Trion Pharma) in 2009 and of Blincyto (US, Amgen) in 2014, the high potential of bispecific antibodies in the field of immuno-oncology is eliciting a renewed interest from pharmaceutical companies. Supported by rapid advances [...] Read more.
As evidenced by the recent approvals of Removab (EU, Trion Pharma) in 2009 and of Blincyto (US, Amgen) in 2014, the high potential of bispecific antibodies in the field of immuno-oncology is eliciting a renewed interest from pharmaceutical companies. Supported by rapid advances in antibody engineering and the development of several technological platforms such as Triomab or bispecific T cell engagers (BiTEs), the “bispecifics” market has increased significantly over the past decade and may occupy a pivotal space in the future. Over 30 bispecific molecules are currently in different stages of clinical trials and more than 70 in preclinical phase. This review focuses on the clinical potential of bispecific antibodies as immune effector cell engagers in the onco-immunotherapy field. We summarize current strategies targeting various immune cells and their clinical interests. Furthermore, perspectives of bispecific antibodies in future clinical developments are addressed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Bispecific Antibodies)
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