Although advances in chemotherapy have dramatically improved outcomes for children with leukemia, patients with high-risk and aggressive cancers require intense drug regimens that push safety limits. Researchers have formulated an antibody guidance system in mice that could empower chemotherapy against childhood leukemias while minimizing drug toxicity.
Bioatla Inc. has received FDA clearance of its IND application to evaluate BA-3182, a conditionally active biologic (CAB) EpCAM/CD3 bispecific T-cell engager antibody, for the treatment of advanced adenocarcinoma. The company plans to initiate a phase I study this year.
Ocean Biomedical Inc. has discovered bispecific antibodies that target Chitinase 3-like-1 (CHI3L1) and immune checkpoint inhibitors, killing glioblastoma cells and melanoma cells, and blocking the metastasis of malignant melanoma cells to the lung by over 90%.
Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc has received clearance of its IND application from the FDA to initiate a first-in-human phase I/IIa trial of LB-101 for the treatment of solid tumors.
The advent of bispecific antibodies bridging two different cell types has enabled a new level of cell specificity in cancer biology that has only recently begun to be realized in the clinic.
Researchers at GM Biosciences Inc. have reported developed a novel CD38xCD3 bispecific IgM T-cell engager IGM-2644 with 10 binding sites for human CD38 (Kd=0.27nM; measured by biolayer interferometry) and one anti-CD3 site (Kd=2.1nM) designed to reduce safety concerns.
Aptevo Therapeutics Inc. has filed a provisional patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) pertaining to an anti-PD-L1 x anti-CD40 bispecific antibody, APVO-711, with the potential to treat a range of solid malignancies such as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma and carcinomas of the lung, gastrointestinal tract and colon.
Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. has received IND approval from China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for two immuno-oncology bispecific antibodies, SIM-0348 and SIM-0237.