Development of a Tetravalent Anti-GPA33/Anti-CD3 Bispecific Antibody for Colorectal Cancers

Despite progress in the treatment of colorectal cancer, curing metastatic colorectal cancer remains a major unmet medical need worldwide. Here, we describe a T-cell-engaging bispecific antibody (T-BsAb) to redirect polyclonal cytotoxic T cells to eradicate colorectal cancer. A33, a murine antibody specific for GPA33, was humanized to huA33 and reformatted to huA33-BsAb, based on a novel IgG(L)-scFv platform by linking the anti-CD3 huOKT3 scFv to the carboxyl end of the light chain. This T-BsAb was stably expressed in CHOcells and purified as a stable monomer by HPLC, retaining immunoreactivity by FACS through 30 days of incubation at 37 degrees C. In vitro, it induced activation and expansion of unstimulated T cells and elicited potent T-cell-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity against colon and gastric cancer cells in an antigen-specific manner. In vivo, huA33-BsAb inhibited the colon and gastric cancer xenografts, in both subcutaneous and intraperitoneal tumor models. More importantly, both microsatellite instable and microsatellite stable colorectal cancer were effectively eliminated by huA33-BsAb. These preclinical results provide further support for the use of IgG(L)-scFv platform to build BsAb, and especially one targeting GPA33 for colorectal cancer. These preclinical results also support further development of huA33-BsAb as a potential immunotherapeutic. (C) 2018 AACR.