The concept of bispecific antibodies – monoclonal antibodies able to recognise and engage two different antigens – has been explored for over twenty years. Development of therapies based on the approach has, however, been hampered by difficulties in their construction, poor efficacy and undesirable side-effects.
One particular subset of bispecific antibodies, the so-called bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE®), has nevertheless begun to show promise. Blinatumomab, developed by Micromet, targets the CD19 receptor of B-cells and CD3 on T-cells and is designed to direct cytotoxic T-cells to B-cell tumours. Interim data from a phase I trial in Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma patients have shown signs of clinical efficacy and additional clinical trials in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are ongoing.
The BiTE® principle
Image: Wikipedia – Anypodetos
More recently, the Micromet team have reported on preclinical data using BiTE® antibodies targeting the EGFR receptor and CD3, incorporating the binding domains of either panitumumab or cetuximab. Panitumumab and cetuximab, as well as EGFR kinase inhibitors, are marketed for treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) and primarily inhibit CRC growth by interfering with EGFR signalling. CRC patients whose tumours have mutated KRAS or BRAF, however, are resistant to treatment. This latest study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that both EGFR-specific BiTE® antibodies mediated potent redirected lysis of KRAS- and BRAF-mutated CRC lines by human T cells at subpicomolar concentrations. The cetuximab-based BiTE® antibody also inhibited growth of tumours from KRAS- and BRAF-mutated human CRC xenografts, whereas cetuximab was not effective. The researchers also report preliminary safety data in non-human primates and conclude that EGFR-specific BiTE® antibodies may have potential to treat CRC that does not respond to conventional antibodies.
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Vectibix Does Not Improve Head and Neck Cancer Survival
August 26th, 2010 at 2:01 am
Among patients with recurrent and/or metastatic, squamous cell head and neck cancer, the addition of the targeted therapy Vectibix to chemotherapy does not result in significantly better survival than chemotherapy alone. The results of this Phase III clinical trial were made available in a press release from Amgen and will also be presented at an upcoming medical meeting.