Sartorius #2 eBook - 2019 - 5

DRUG DISCOVERY

Bispecific, Multispecific Antibodies
Grapple with Cancer
Platforms for Novel Antibody Constructs Take Hold in Cancer
Immunotherapy Development

By Ian C. Clift, PhD

ancer immunotherapy has been advancing on several fronts, most strikingly in
the direction of checkpoint inhibition and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell
therapy. Another front, however, is about to see its share of action. Here, newly
engineered bispecific and multispecific antibodies will be put to the test. Such antibodies
may engage two or more antigens at once, serving as force multipliers that can exploit
opportunities beyond the reach of monospecific antibodies, whether they are deployed
solo or in teams.

Although monospecific antibodies are beginning to show their limitations, they should
be recognized as part of a sequence of antibody-based cancer immunotherapy developments, a sequence that reaches back at least as far as the Nobel Prize-winning efforts of
James P. Allison, PhD, and Tasuku Honjo, MD, PhD. Allison's work on the CTLA-4 led to the
first FDA-approved checkpoint inhibitor drug, ipilimumab (Yervoy, Bristol-Myers Squibb),
whereas Honjo's discovery of PD-1 led to the development of anti-PD-1 drugs such as
pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck). These drugs and other checkpoint inhibitors have
profoundly impacted the treatment of cancer.

Ian Clift Ph.D. is Scientific
Communications Consultant, Biomedical
Associates and Clinical Assistant Professor,
Indiana University
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GENengnews.com

An alternative cancer immunotherapy approach, namely CAR T-cell therapy, has also
demonstrated its potential to combat cancer. In this approach, T cells are engineered to
launch sustained attacks on tumors. Although CAR T-cell therapies clearly have fight
in them, they may cede some anticancer glory to bispecific antibodies (bsAbs). The first
FDA-approved bsAb to directly compete with CAR-T was the CD19/CD3 drug blinatumomab
(Blincyto, Amgen). It was introduced in 2014 for indications in B-cell precursor acute
lymphoblastic leukemia.

Infographic: Challenges and
Solutions for Developing
New Monoclonal Antibodies

https://www.sartorius.com/en/pr/mab/challenges-and-solutions-for-developing-new-monoclonal-antibodies?utm_source=gen&utm_medium=extbanner&utm_campaign=mabdevinoncology&utm_term=2019_ebook&mrksrc=thirdparty&utm_content=infographic http://www.GENengnews.com

Sartorius #2 eBook - 2019

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