ANTI-PD-L1 ANTIBODY AND USE THEREOF

Information

  • Patent Application
  • 20220073621
  • Publication Number
    20220073621
  • Date Filed
    August 20, 2020
    3 years ago
  • Date Published
    March 10, 2022
    2 years ago
Abstract
The present application provides an anti-PD-L1 antibody, an antigen-binding fragment thereof, and use thereof. The present application also provides a multispecific antibody such as a bispecific antibody, a conjugate, and a composition comprising the anti-PD-L1 antibody or the antigen-binding fragment thereof, and use thereof in treatment of diseases such as cancer.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of biomedicine. More specifically, the present invention relates to an anti-PD-L1 antibody and use thereof, especially in treatment of cancer.


BACKGROUND ART

Cancer is currently one of the diseases leading to the highest mortality in humans. According to statistics from the World Health Organization, in 2012 the number of malignant tumor incidence and death cases worldwide reached 14 million and 8.2 million, respectively. There were 3.07 million newly diagnosed cancer cases and 2.2 million deaths in China. In recent years, immune checkpoints have been considered as effective potential targets for the treatment of various cancers, and the development of antibody drugs against immune checkpoints has attracted more and more attention.


The full names of PD-1 and PD-L1 are programmed cell death-1 and programmed cell death-ligand 1, respectively, which are mainly involved in the body's immune regulation process such as autoimmunity and tumor immunity as important members of the immunoglobulin superfamily of costimulatory molecules. PD-1, type I transmembrane protein with a size of 40 kDa, is an inhibitory receptor mainly expressed on activated T cells. When combined with its ligand PD-L1, it can significantly inhibit the activation and proliferation of T cells. There are currently two known PD-1 ligands, namely PD-L1 (also known as B7-H1) and PD-L2 (also known as B7-DC), respectively. The human PD-L1 gene is located on chromosome 9p24, and encodes a type I transmembrane protein of 290 amino acids. It is composed of extracellular IgV and IgC domains, a hydrophobic transmembrane domain and an intracellular domain of 30 amino acids. PD-L1 is widely expressed on the surface of a variety of immune cells, epithelial cells and tumor cells. PD-L2 is mainly expressed on the surface of immune cells. Current research has found that tumor cells can inhibit the activation and proliferation of tumor antigen-specific T cells by highly expressing PD-L1 molecules to bind to the receptor PD-1 on the surface of T cells, and transmitting negative regulatory signals, thereby evading the body's immune monitoring and killing.


In recent years, monoclonal antibodies targeting PD-1/PD-L1 proteins have been used to block the binding of PD-1/PD-L1 to promote the activation and proliferation of T cells in the body to achieve the purpose of killing tumor cells. They have been applied to a variety of tumors, such as melanoma, lymphoma, bladder cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and colon cancer, and have achieved certain therapeutic effects. Tumor immunotherapy has become one of the research hotspots and development directions for new drug worldwide.


At present, 3 anti-PD-L1 antibodies have been approved by the FDA, namely the anti-PD-L1 antibody Atezolizumab developed by Roche (for bladder cancer, locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma, metastatic non-small cell lung cancer), the anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody Avelumab jointly developed by Merck/Pfizer (for rare skin cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma, and the like), and Durvalumab developed by AstraZeneca (for advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma). In addition to single drugs, anti-PD-L1 antibodies are also being tried in combination. For example, Durvalumab is currently used in combination with 13 drugs with different mechanisms, including OX40, MEK, CTLA4, and the like. Monoclonal antibodies targeting PD-L1 that have been on the market have their own advantages and disadvantages in the treatment of cancer, but they are expensive and cannot be widely used and popularized. Therefore, the development of antibody drugs that have a wider application range and can block the PD-1/PD-L1 signaling pathway more efficiently will provide the possibility for the treatment of a variety of tumors and immune system-related diseases, and has huge application potential and market value.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Unless otherwise defined herein, the scientific and technical terms and abbreviations thereof used in conjunction with the present invention shall have the meanings commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Some of the terms and abbreviations used herein are listed as below.


Antibody, Ab;


Immunoglobulin, Ig;


Heavy chain, HC;


Light chain, LC;


Heavy chain variable domain, VH;


Heavy chain constant domain, CH;


Light chain variable domain, VL;


Light chain constant domain, CL;


Complementarity determining region, CDR refers to the antigen complementary binding region of an antibody;


Fab fragment: antigen binding fragment, Fab;


Fe fragment: fragment crystallizable region, Fe;


Monoclonal antibodies, mAbs;


Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, ADCC;


Complement dependent cytotoxicity, CDC;


Bispecific antibody, BsAb.


As used herein, the term “antibody” refers to an immunoglobulin molecule comprising at least one antigen recognition site and can specifically bind to an antigen. The term “antibody” mentioned in the present invention is understood in its broadest meaning, and comprises a monoclonal antibody, a polyclonal antibody, an antibody fragment, a multispecific antibody comprising at least two different antigen binding domains (such as bispecific antibodies). The antibody also includes a murine antibody, a chimeric antibody, a humanized antibody, a human antibody, and an antibody from other sources. The antibody of the present invention can be derived from any animal, including but not limited to an immunoglobulin molecule of a human, a non-human primate, a mouse or a rat. The antibody may contain additional changes, such as an unnatural amino acid, a mutation in Fc effector function, and a mutation in a glycosylation site. The antibody also includes a post-translationally modified antibody, a fusion protein comprising the antigenic determinant of the antibody, and an immunoglobulin molecule comprising any other modifications to the antigen recognition site, as long as these antibodies exhibit the desired biological activity.


According to the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain constant region of the antibody, the immunoglobulin can be divided into five categories: IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM. They can also be further divided into different subclasses (isotypes), such as IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA1 and IgA2. According to the amino acid sequence of the light chain, the light chain can be classified as a lambda chain or a kappa chain. The antibody of the present invention can be of any type (such as IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM) or subclass (such as IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA1 or IgA2).


The term “antigen binding fragment” includes but is not limited to: a Fab fragment having VL, CL, VH and CH1 domains; a Fab′ fragment, which is a Fab fragment with one or more cysteine residues at the C-terminus of the CH1 domain; a Fd fragment having VH and CH1 domains; a Fd′ fragment having VH and CH1 domains and one or more cysteine residues at the C-terminus of the CH1 domain; a Fv fragment having VL and VH domains of the single arm of the antibody; a dAb fragment consisting of VH domain or VL domain; an isolated CDR region; a F(ab′)2 fragment, which is a bivalent fragment comprising two Fab′ fragments connected by a disulfide bridge at the hinge region; a single-chain antibody molecule (such as single-chain Fv; scFv); a “diabody” with two antigen binding sites, comprising the heavy chain variable domain (VH) connected to the light chain variable domain (VL) in the same polypeptide chain; a “linear antibody” comprising a pair of tandem Fd segments (VH-CH1-VH-CH1), which form a pair of antigen binding regions together with the complementary light chain polypeptide; and a modified form of any of the foregoing substances, which retains antigen binding activity.


As used herein, the term “CDR” refers to a complementarity determining region within the variable sequence of an antibody. For each variable region, there are three CDRs in each variable region of the heavy chain and light chain, which are called CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3. The exact boundaries of these CDRs are defined differently according to different systems. The system described by Kabat et al. (Kabat et al, Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. (1987) and (1991)) not only provides a clear residue numbering system suitable for the antibody variable region, but also provides a residue boundary defining three CDRs. These CDRs can be called Kabat CDRs. Each complementarity determining region may comprise amino acid residues from the “complementarity determining region” as defined by Kabat. Chothia et al. (Chothia & Lesk, J. Mol. Biol, 196: 901-917 (1987) and Chothia et al., Nature 342: 877-883 (-1989)) found that some sub-parts in Kabat CDR adopt almost the same peptide skeleton conformation, despite the large diversity at the amino acid sequence level. These sub-parts are referred to as L1, L2, and L3, or H1, H2, and H3, respectively, where “L” and “H” represent light chain and heavy chain regions, respectively. These regions can be referred to as Chothia CDRs, which have boundaries that overlap with Kabat CDRs. There are other CDR boundary definitions that may not strictly follow one of the above systems, but will still overlap with Kabat CDR. The method used herein can utilize CDRs defined according to any of these systems, although the preferred embodiment uses CDRs defined by Kabat or Chothia. As used herein, “antibody variable region” refers to a moiety of the light chain and heavy chain of the antibody molecule comprising the amino acid sequences of the complementarity determining regions (CDRs, namely CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3) and framework regions (FRs). VH refers to the variable domain of the heavy chain. VL refers to the variable domain of the light chain.


The term “chimeric antibody” as used herein refers to an antibody in which the variable region is derived from a non-human species (e.g., derived from a rodent) and the constant region is derived from a different species (e.g., human). The chimeric antibody can be generated by antibody engineering. “Antibody engineering” is a term generally used for different kinds of modification of antibodies, and methods for antibody engineering are well known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the chimeric antibody can be a genetic or engineered recombinant antibody. Methods of generating chimeric antibodies are known to those skilled in the art, and therefore, the generation of chimeric antibodies can be performed by methods other than those described herein. Chimeric monoclonal antibodies are developed for human therapeutic applications to reduce the expected antibody immunogenicity of non-human antibodies, such as rodent antibodies. They may generally contain non-human (e.g., murine or rabbit) variable regions which are specific for the antigen of interest, and human constant antibody heavy and light chain domain. The term “variable region” or “variable domain” as used in the context of a chimeric antibody refers to a region comprising the CDRs and framework regions of both the heavy and light chains of an immunoglobulin, as described below.


The term “humanized antibody” as used herein refers to a genetically engineered non-human antibody comprising modified human antibody constant domain and non-human variable domain to contain a high level of sequence homology with human variable domains. This can be achieved by grafting six non-human antibody CDRs (they form an antigen binding site together) onto the homologous human acceptor framework region (FR). In order to completely reconstruct the binding affinity and specificity of the parent antibody, it may be necessary to replace the framework residues from the parent antibody (i.e., non-human antibody) into the human framework region (back mutation). Therefore, the humanized antibody may comprise non-human CDR sequences, mainly human framework regions, which optionally comprises one or more amino acid back mutations to the non-human amino acid sequence, and fully human constant regions. Optionally, additional amino acid modifications (which are not necessarily back mutations) can be applied to obtain humanized antibodies with preferred characteristics, such as affinity and biochemical properties and/or additional amino acid mutations can be introduced in the constant region.


As used herein, the term “monoclonal antibody” refers to an antibody obtained from a substantially homogeneous antibody population, that is, each antibody constituting the population is the same, except for possible naturally occurring mutations that may exist in small amounts. Monoclonal antibodies are highly specific and are directed against a single antigen. Furthermore, in contrast to polyclonal antibody preparations usually including different antibodies directed against different determinants (epitopes), each antibody in a monoclonal preparation is directed against the same single determinant on the antigen. As used herein, the term “monoclonal antibody” is not limited to antibodies produced by hybridoma technology, and the modifier “monoclonal antibody” should not be interpreted as requiring the production of antibodies by any specific method.


In the present invention, the inventors generated a new anti-PD-L1 antibody and carried out humanization on it. The aforementioned antibodies and humanized forms thereof can effectively block the binding of PD-1/PD-L1, and show significant therapeutic effects in cancer animal models.


Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention relates to an anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, wherein the anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises a heavy chain complementarity determining region (CDR H) comprising:


CDR H1 comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 19, SEQ ID NO: 64, SEQ ID NO: 70, SEQ ID NO: 76 or SEQ ID NO: 82;


CDR H2 comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 14, SEQ ID NO: 20, SEQ ID NO: 65, SEQ ID NO: 71, SEQ ID NO: 77 or SEQ ID NO: 83; and


CDR H3 comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 9, SEQ ID NO: 15, SEQ ID NO: 21, SEQ ID NO: 66, SEQ ID NO: 72, SEQ ID NO: 78 or SEQ ID NO: 84.


In some embodiments, the anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises the CDR H comprising:

    • a) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8 and SEQ ID NO: 9, respectively;


b) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO: 15, respectively;


c) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 19, SEQ ID NO: 20 and SEQ ID NO: 21, respectively;


d) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 64, SEQ ID NO: 65 and SEQ ID NO: 66, respectively;


e) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 70, SEQ ID NO: 71 and SEQ ID NO: 72, respectively;


f) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 76, SEQ ID NO: 77 and SEQ ID NO: 78, respectively; or


g) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 82, SEQ ID NO: 83 and SEQ ID NO: 84, respectively.


In some embodiments, the anti-PD-L1 antibody also comprises the light chain complementarity determining regions (CDR L) comprising:


CDR L1 comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 10, SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 22, SEQ ID NO: 67, SEQ ID NO: 73, SEQ ID NO: 79 or SEQ ID NO: 85;


CDR L2 comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 11, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 23, SEQ ID NO: 68, SEQ ID NO: 74, SEQ ID NO: 80 or SEQ ID NO: 86; and


CDR L3 comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 24, SEQ ID NO: 69, SEQ ID NO: 75, SEQ ID NO: 81 or SEQ ID NO: 87.


In some embodiments, the anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises the CDR L comprising:


a) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 10, SEQ ID NO: 11 and SEQ ID NO: 12, respectively;


b) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 17 and SEQ ID NO: 18, respectively;


c) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 22, SEQ ID NO: 23 and SEQ ID NO: 24, respectively;


d) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 67, SEQ ID NO: 68 and SEQ ID NO: 69, respectively;


e) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 73, SEQ ID NO: 74 and SEQ ID NO: 75, respectively;


f) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 79, SEQ ID NO: 80 and SEQ ID NO: 81, respectively; or


g) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 85, SEQ ID NO: 86 and SEQ ID NO: 87, respectively.


In a preferred embodiment, the anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises the CDR H and CDR L comprising:


a) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8 and SEQ ID NO: 9, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 10, SEQ ID NO: 11 and SEQ ID NO: 12, respectively;


b) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO: 15, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 17 and SEQ ID NO: 18, respectively;


c) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 19, SEQ ID NO: 20 and SEQ ID NO: 21, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 22, SEQ ID NO: 23 and SEQ ID NO: 24, respectively;


d) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 64, SEQ ID NO: 65 and SEQ ID NO: 66, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 67, SEQ ID NO: 68 and SEQ ID NO: 69, respectively;


e) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 70, SEQ ID NO: 71 and SEQ ID NO: 72, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 73, SEQ ID NO: 74 and SEQ ID NO: 75, respectively;


f) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 76, SEQ ID NO: 77 and SEQ ID NO: 78, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 79, SEQ ID NO: 80 and SEQ ID NO: 81, respectively; or


g) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 82, SEQ ID NO: 83 and SEQ ID NO: 84, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 85, SEQ ID NO: 86 and SEQ ID NO: 87, respectively.


In another aspect, the present invention relates to an anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, wherein the anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises a heavy chain variable region (VH) comprising:


a) an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 56, SEQ ID NO: 58, SEQ ID NO: 60 or SEQ ID NO: 62;


b) an amino acid sequence that is at least 60%, such as at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of a); or


c) an amino acid sequence with one or more amino acid modifications in the amino acid sequence of a), such as 1-5, 5-10, 10-20, 20-30 or 30-40 amino acid modifications, such as 1-40, 1-30, 1-20, 1-10 or 1-5 amino acid modifications.


As used herein, “amino acid modification” refers to the addition, substitution, insertion and/or deletion of one or more amino acids in the polypeptide chain.


In some embodiments, the anti-PD-L1 antibody further comprises a light chain variable region (VL) comprising:


a) an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 57, SEQ ID NO: 59, SEQ ID NO: 61 or SEQ ID NO: 63;


b) an amino acid sequence that is at least 60%, such as at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of a); or


c) an amino acid sequence with one or more amino acid modifications in the amino acid sequence of a), such as 1-5, 5-10 or 10-20 amino acid modifications, such as 1-20, 1-10 or 1-5 amino acid modifications.


In some embodiments, the anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises the following VH and VL:


a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 2, respectively;


b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 60%, such as at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 2, respectively; or


c) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequence with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 2, respectively.


In other embodiments, the anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises the following VH and VL:


a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 3 and SEQ ID NO: 4, respectively;


b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 60%, such as at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 3 and SEQ ID NO: 4, respectively; or


c) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequence with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 3 and SEQ ID NO: 4, respectively.


In some embodiments, the anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises the following VH and VL:


a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 5 and SEQ ID NO: 6, respectively;


b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 60%, such as at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 5 and SEQ ID NO: 6, respectively; or


c) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequence with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 5 and SEQ ID NO: 6, respectively.


In some embodiments, the anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises the following VH and VL:


a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 56 and SEQ ID NO: 57, respectively;


b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 60%, such as at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 56 and SEQ ID NO: 57, respectively; or


c) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequence with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 56 and SEQ ID NO: 57, respectively.


In other embodiments, the anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises the following VH and VL:


a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 58 and SEQ ID NO: 59, respectively;


b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 60%, such as at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 58 and SEQ ID NO: 59, respectively; or


c) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequence with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 58 and SEQ ID NO: 59, respectively.


In some embodiments, the anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises the following VH and VL:


a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 60 and SEQ ID NO: 61, respectively;


b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 60%, such as at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 60 and SEQ ID NO: 61, respectively; or


c) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequence with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 60 and SEQ ID NO: 61, respectively.


In some embodiments, the anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises the following VH and VL:


a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 62 and SEQ ID NO: 63, respectively;


b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 60%, such as at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 62 and SEQ ID NO: 63, respectively; or


c) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequence with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 62 and SEQ ID NO: 63, respectively.


In any embodiment of the aforementioned anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, wherein the anti-PD-L1 antibody can be a murine antibody, a chimeric antibody, a humanized antibody or a fully human antibody.


In any embodiment of the aforementioned anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, when an amino acid modification is involved, the amino acid modification can be located in a framework region of the variable region. In some embodiments, the amino acid modification is humanization.


In one aspect, the present invention relates to humanized anti-PD-L1 antibodies of the present invention.


In some embodiments, the humanized anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises VH comprising the amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 39, SEQ ID NO: 40, SEQ ID NO: 41 or SEQ ID NO: 42, and VL comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 43, SEQ ID NO: 44 or SEQ ID NO: 45.


In other embodiments, the humanized anti-PD-L1 antibody comprises VH comprising the amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 31, SEQ ID NO: 32, SEQ ID NO: 33 or SEQ ID NO: 34, and VL comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 35, SEQ ID NO: 36, SEQ ID NO: 37 or SEQ ID NO: 38.


In some embodiments, the antibody comprises VH comprising the amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 46, SEQ ID NO: 47 or SEQ ID NO: 48, and VL comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 49, SEQ ID NO: 50 or SEQ ID NO: 51.


In some embodiments of the aforementioned anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, the antibody may further comprise an Fc region amino acid modification which reduces the antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and/or complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). In some embodiments, the modification comprises an N297A mutation.


In any embodiment of the aforementioned anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, the antibody may be selected from an IgG, an IgA, an IgM, an IgE or an IgD isotype. In some embodiments, the antibody is selected from IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, or IgG4 subtypes.


In any embodiment of the aforementioned anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, the antigen binding fragment may be selected from a Fab fragment, a Fab′ fragment, a Fd fragment, a Fd′ fragment, a Fv fragment, a dAb Fragment, a F(ab′)2 fragment, a single chain fragment, a diabody or a linear antibody.


In another aspect, the present invention relates to a bispecific antibody. As used herein, “bispecific antibody” refers to an artificially designed antibody, which is composed of two components with different antigen binding sites, and can bind to two different antigen binding sites at the same time.


In some embodiments, the bispecific antibody comprises a first antigen binding region binding to PD-L1, and a second antigen binding region binding to a second antigen, and the first antigen binding region comprises the CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 and/or CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 of the anti-PD-L1 antibody of the present invention, or the VH and/or VL of the anti-PD-L1 antibody of the present invention. In some embodiments, the second antigen may be selected from a tumor-associated antigen or an immune checkpoint molecule.


Many tumor-associated antigens associated with specific cancer have been identified in the art. As used herein, the term “tumor-associated antigen” refers to an antigen that is differentially expressed by cancer cells and therefore can be used to target cancer cells. Tumor-associated antigens are antigens that can potentially stimulate an obvious tumor-specific immune response. Some of these antigens are encoded by normal cells, but are not necessarily expressed by normal cells. These antigens can be characterized as those that are usually silent (i.e., not expressed) in normal cells, those that are expressed only during certain stages of differentiation, and those that are expressed over time, such as embryonic and fetal antigens. Other cancer antigens are encoded by mutant genes such as oncogenes (e.g. activated ras oncogene), suppressor genes (e.g. mutant p53), and fusion proteins produced by internal deletions or chromosomal translocations. Other cancer antigens can be encoded by viral genes, such as those carried on RNA and DNA tumor viruses. Many other tumor-associated antigens and antibodies against them are known and/or commercially available, and can also be produced by those skilled in the art.


Immune checkpoint protein receptors and ligands thereof (herein collectively referred to as immune checkpoint molecules) mediate the suppression of T cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and are usually expressed by tumors or expressed on non-reactive T cells in the tumor microenvironment, and allow tumors to evade immune attack. Inhibitors of the activity of immunosuppressive checkpoint protein receptors and ligands thereof can overcome the immunosuppressive tumor environment to allow the tumor's cytotoxic T cell attack. Examples of immune checkpoint proteins include, but are not limited to, PD-1, PD-L1, PD-L2, CTLA4, OX40, LAG3, TIM3, TIGIT and CD103. The regulation (including inhibition) of the activity of such proteins can be accomplished by immune checkpoint modulators, which can include, for example, antibodies, aptamers, small molecules, and soluble forms of checkpoint receptor proteins that target checkpoint proteins. Antibodies specific for PD-1, PD-L2, CTLA4, OX40, LAG3, TIM3, TIGIT and CD103 are known and/or commercially available, and can also be produced by those skilled in the art.


In one aspect, the present invention relates to a nucleotide sequence. In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence encodes the polypeptide chain of the anti-PD-L1 antibody of the present invention. In other embodiments, the nucleotide sequence encodes the VH or VL of the anti-PD-L1 antibody of the present invention.


In another aspect, the present invention relates to a vector comprising the nucleotide sequence of the present invention.


As used herein, “vector” refers to a nucleic acid delivery vehicle into which polynucleotides can be inserted. When the vector allows for the expression of the protein encoded by the inserted polynucleotide, the vector is called an expression vector. A vector can be introduced into a host cell by transformation, transduction, or transfection, and then the genetic substance elements carried by the vector can be expressed in the host cell. Vectors are well known to those skilled in the art, including, but not limited to: (1) a plasmid; (2) a phagemid; (3) a cosmid; (4) an artificial chromosome, such as yeast artificial chromosome, bacterial artificial chromosome or artificial chromosome derived from P1; (5) a bacteriophage such as lambda bacteriophage or M13 bacteriophage and (6) an animal virus, such as retrovirus, adenovirus, adeno-associated virus, herpesvirus, poxvirus, and baculovirus. A vector can contain a variety of elements that control expression, including, but not limited to: a promoter sequence, a transcription initiation sequence, an enhancer sequence, a selection element, and reporter gene; in addition, the vector may further contain a replication initiation site.


In one aspect, the present invention relates to a recombinant host cell comprising the nucleotide sequence or vector of the present invention.


In another aspect, the present invention relates to a hybridoma cell producing the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of the present invention.


In one aspect, the present invention relates to a conjugate comprising the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, or the bispecific antibody of the present invention, and a moiety conjugated thereto. In some embodiments, the moiety may be selected from cytotoxins, radioisotopes, fluorescent labels, luminescent substances, chromogenic substances or enzymes.


In another aspect, the present invention relates to a composition comprising the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, the bispecific antibody, or the conjugate of the present invention, and optionally one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, excipients and/or diluents.


The phrase “pharmaceutically acceptable” refers to those compounds, materials, compositions and/or dosage forms that are suitable for use in contact with human and animal tissues within the scope of reasonable medical judgment without excessive toxicity, irritation, allergic response, or other problems or complications, and are commensurate with a reasonable benefit/risk ratio. As used herein, the phrase “pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, excipients and/or diluents” refers to pharmaceutically acceptable materials, compositions or vehicles, such as liquid or solid fillers, diluents, excipients, solvents, media, encapsulating materials, manufacturing aids or solvent encapsulating materials, which are related to maintaining the stability, solubility or activity of the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of the present invention.


In one aspect, the present invention relates to a method for treating a disease in a subject comprising administering to the subject the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, bispecific antibody, conjugate or composition of the present invention.


In another one aspect, the present invention relates to use of the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, bispecific antibody, conjugate or composition of the present invention in the treatment of a disease in a subject.


In yet another aspect, the present invention relates to use of the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, bispecific antibody, conjugate or composition of the present invention in the preparation of a medicament for treating a disease in a subject.


In some embodiments of the above methods and use, the disease may be cancer. Specific examples of cancer include, but are not limited to: basal cell carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma; bladder cancer; bone cancer; breast cancer; peritoneal cancer; cervical cancer; cholangiocarcinoma; choriocarcinoma; colon and rectal cancer; connective tissue cancer; digestive system cancer; endometrial cancer; esophageal cancer; eye cancer; head and neck cancer; gastric cancer; glioblastoma; liver cancer; kidney cancer; laryngeal cancer; leukemia; liver cancer; lung cancer (e.g., small cell lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, lung adenocarcinoma, and lung squamous cell carcinoma); lymphoma, including Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; melanoma; myeloma; neuroblastoma; oral cancer; ovarian cancer; pancreatic cancer; prostate cancer; retinoblastoma; rhabdomyosarcoma; rectal cancer; respiratory cancer; salivary gland cancer; sarcoma; skin cancer; squamous cell carcinoma; testicular cancer; thyroid cancer; uterine or endometrial cancer; urinary system cancer; B-cell lymphoma; chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL); acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); hairy cell leukemia; chronic myeloblastic leukemia, and the like.


In some embodiments, the cancer is selected from melanoma, lymphoma, bladder cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer, colon cancer or skin cancer.


In some embodiments of the above methods and use, further comprising administering one or more additional therapeutic agents to the subject. In some embodiments, the therapeutic agent is selected from an antibody, a chemotherapeutic drug, or a small molecule compound. In some embodiments, the therapeutic agent targets a tumor-associated antigen. In other embodiments, the therapeutic agent targets an immune checkpoint molecule which may be selected from PD-1, PD-L2, CTLA4, OX40, LAG3, TIM3, TIGIT, or CD103.


As used herein, the term “chemotherapeutic agent” refers to any chemical agent that has therapeutic usefulness in the treatment of a disease characterized by abnormal cell growth. Chemotherapeutic agents as used herein include chemical agents and biological agents. These agents function to inhibit the cell activity that cancer cells depend on for continued survival. The categories of chemotherapeutic agents include alkylating/alkaloid agents, antimetabolites, hormones or hormone analogs, as well as various antibiotic drugs.





BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The flow cytometry results in FIG. 1 show the effect of the anti-PD-L1 antibody of the present invention in blocking the binding between biotin-hPD1 ligand and PD-L1. FIG. 1A shows the results of antibodies 08-3F2 and 07-6A11;



FIG. 1B shows the results of antibody 17-7E4; FIG. 1C shows the results of chimeric antibodies 24-1F4-mHvKv-IgG1, 33-10C9-mHvKv-IgG1, 23-2A6-mHvKv-IgG1 and 23-4A8-mHvKv-IgG1. Atzeolizumab is used as a positive control.


The flow cytometry of FIG. 2 shows the cross-reactions between the anti-PD-L1 antibody of the present invention and PD-L1 proteins and chimeric PD-L1 proteins derived from different species. FIG. 2A shows the results of antibodies 07-6A11, 17-7E4 and 08-3F2; FIG. 2B shows the results of chimeric antibodies 24-1F4-mHvKv-IgG1, 33-10C9-mHvKv-IgG1, 23-2A6-mHvKv-IgG1 and 23-4A8-mHvKv-IgG1. NC: negative control. Atzeolizumab is used as a positive control.



FIG. 3 shows a line graph showing the change in body weight of experimental animals over time after treatment with the indicated anti-PD-L1 antibody. FIG. 3A shows the change of the absolute value of experimental animals' body weight over time. FIG. 3B shows the percentage change in the body weight of experimental animals over time. Physiological saline (PS) is used as a negative control. Atzeolizumab is used as a positive control.



FIG. 4 shows a line graph showing the change in tumor volume in experimental animals over time after treatment with the indicated anti-PD-L1 antibody. Physiological saline (PS) is used as a negative control. Atzeolizumab is used as a positive control.



FIG. 5 shows a line graph showing the change in body weight of experimental animals over time after treatment with the indicated anti-PD-L1 antibody. FIG. 5A shows the change of the absolute value of experimental animals' body weight over time. FIG. 5B shows the percentage change in the body weight of experimental animals over time. Physiological saline (PS) is used as a negative control.



FIG. 6 shows a line graph showing the change in tumor volume in experimental animals over time after treatment with the indicated anti-PD-L1 antibody. Physiological saline (PS) is used as a negative control.



FIG. 7 shows a line graph showing the change in body weight of experimental animals over time after treatment with the indicated anti-PD-L1 antibody. FIG. 7A shows the change of the absolute value of experimental animals' body weight over time. FIG. 7B shows the percentage change in the body weight of experimental animals over time. Physiological saline (PS) is used as a negative control.



FIG. 8 shows a line graph showing the change in tumor volume in experimental animals over time after treatment with the indicated anti-PD-L1 antibody. Physiological saline (PS) is used as a negative control.



FIG. 9 shows a line graph showing the change in body weight of experimental animals over time after treatment with different doses of the anti-PD-L1 antibody. FIG. 9A shows the change of the absolute value of experimental animals' body weight over time. FIG. 9B shows the percentage change in the body weight of experimental animals over time. Physiological saline (PS) is used as a negative control.



FIG. 10 shows a line graph showing the change in tumor volume in experimental animals over time after treatment with different doses of the anti-PD-L1 antibody. Physiological saline (PS) is used as a negative control.



FIG. 11 shows a line graph showing the change in body weight of experimental animals over time after treatment with the indicated anti-PD-L1 antibody, anti-CTLA-4 antibody, anti-OX40 antibody or a combination thereof. FIG. 11A shows the change of the absolute value of experimental animals' body weight over time. FIG. 11B shows the percentage change in the body weight of experimental animals over time. Physiological saline is used as a negative control.



FIGS. 12A to 12C show line graphs showing the change in tumor volume in experimental animals over time after treatment with the indicated anti-PD-L1 antibody, anti-CTLA-4 antibody, anti-OX40 antibody or a combination thereof. Physiological saline is used as a negative control.





DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the content of the present invention will be further described in conjunction with examples. It should be understood that the following examples are only illustrative and should not be considered as limiting the scope of the present invention.


The name of the antibody used herein includes information of the antibody source, variable region and constant region. For example, the chimeric antibody 08-3F2-mHvKv-IgG1 is an antibody composed of the VH and VL regions of the murine antibody 08-3F2 (“3F2”) and the constant region of human IgG1; similarly, the humanized antibody 3F2-H1K2-IgG1 is an antibody composed of the humanized heavy chain variable region H1 and light chain variable region K2 of the murine antibody 08-3F2 (“3F2”), and the constant region of human IgG1. Some antibodies further have an N297A mutation at the Fc terminal (e.g., 23-2A6-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A) to eliminate the Fc functional effect by mutating glycosylation sites.


Example 1. Generating of the Antibody

The anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies 08-3F2 (“3F2”), 07-6A11 (“6A11”), 17-7E4 (“7E4”), 23-2A6 (“2A6”), 23-4A8 (“4A8”), 33-10C9 (“10C9”) and 24-1F4 (“1F4”) of the present invention were obtained by immunizing mice with a recombinant human PD-L1 protein or an expression plasmid encoding the recombinant human PD-L1 protein, and then constructing hybridoma cells. GE AKTA protein chromatography automatic purifier (GE Healthcare) was used for antibody purification according to the manufacturer's instructions. The amino acid sequences of the heavy chain variable region (VH), light chain variable region (VL) and CDR of the above antibodies were shown in Tables 1 to 3 below.









TABLE 1





VH and VL sequences of the antibodies

















08-3F2 (“3F2”)
DVQLQESGPDLVKPSQTLSLTCTVTGYSITSG
SEQ ID NO: 1


Heavy chain
YNWHWIRQFPGNKLEWMGYIHHSSITNYNP



variable region
SLKSRISITRDTSKNQFFLQLSSVTTEDTATFY




CAREGYDYDWFAYWGQGTLVTVSA






08-3F2 (“3F2”)
DIVLAQSPATLSVTPGDSVSLSCRASQSISNN
SEQ ID NO: 2


Light chain
LHWYQQKSHESPRLLIKYASQSISGIPSRFSG



variable region
SGSGTDFTLSINSVETEDFGMYFCQQSKSWP




FTFGSGTRLEIK






07-6A11 (“6A11”)
DVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSRKLSCAASGFTFSS
SEQ ID NO: 3


Heavy chain
FGMHWVRQAPEKGLEWVAYISSGSNTIYYA



variable region
DTVKGRFTISRDNPKNTLFLQMTSLRSEDTAI




YYCTRNGYDGWYAMDYWGQGTSVTVSS






07-6A11 (“6A11”)
QIVLTQSPAIIVISASPGEKVTMTCSASSSVSYI
SEQ ID NO: 4


Light chain
HWFQQKSGTSPKRWIYDTSKLASGVPARFS



variable region
GRGSGTSYSLTISSMEAEDAATYYCQQWST




NPFTFGSGTKLEIK






17-7E4 (“7E4”)
QVQLQQSGAELVRPGVSVKISCKGSGFKFTD
SEQ ID NO: 5


Heavy chain
YAIHWVKQSHAKSLEWIGVISIYYGEASYNQ



variable region
KFKDKATLTVDTSSSTAYMELARLTSEDSAIY




YCAREDYYGSSSYFDYWGQGTALTVSS






17-7E4 (“7E4”)
ENVLTQSPAIMAASLGQKVTMTCSASSSVSS
SEQ ID NO: 6


Light chain
SYLHWYQQKSGASPKPLIHRTSNLASGVPAR



variable region
FSGSGSGTSYSLTISSVEAEDDATYYCQQWS




GYPYTFGGGTKLEIK






23-2A6 (“2A6”)
QVQLKESGPGLVAPSQSLSITCTVSGFSLTSY
SEQ ID NO: 56


Heavy chain
DISWIRQPPGKGLEWLGAIWTGGGTNYNSAF



variable region
MSRLSISKDNSKSQVFLKMNSLQTDDTAIYY




CVRDPYYYAMDYWGQGTSVTVSS






23-2A6 (“2A6”)
DIQMNQSPSSLSASLGDTITITCHASQNLNVW
SEQ ID NO: 57


Light chain
LSWYQQKPGNIPKLLIYKASNLHTGVPSRFS



variable region
GSGSGTGFTLTISSLQPEDIATYYCQQGQSYP




RTFGGGTKLEIK






23-4A8 (“4A8”)
EVQLQESGPSLVKPSQTLSLTCSVTGDSITSG
SEQ ID NO: 58


Heavy chain
YWNWIRKFPGNKLEYMGYISYTGSTYYNPS



variable region
LKSRFSITRDTSKNQYFLQLNSVTTEDTATY




YCASYEGWLLPFAYWGQGTLVTVSA






23-4A8 (“4A8”)
DIVMSQSPSSLAVSVGEKVPLSCKSSQSLLYS
SEQ ID NO: 59


Light chain
SNQKSSLAWYQQKPGQSPKLLIYWASTRES



variable region
GVPDRFTGSGSGTDFTLTISSVKAEDLAVYY




CQQYYGYPFTFGSGTKLEIK






33-10C9 (“10C9”)
QVQLQQPGAELVKPGSSVKLSCKASGYTFTT
SEQ ID NO: 60


Heavy chain
YYIYWVKQRPGQGLEWIGGINPYNGGTSFN



variable region
EKFESKATLTVDISSSTAFMQLSSLTSEDSAV




YYCTRDGNYVDYWGQGTTLTVSS






33-10C9 (“10C9”)
QIVLTQSPAIMSASPGEKVTITCSASSTVSYV
SEQ ID NO: 61


Light chain
HWLQQKPDTSPKLWIYSTSNLASGVPARFSG



variable region
SGSGTSYSLTISRMEAEDAATYYCQQRSSSPP




TFGSGTKLEIK






24-1F4 (“1F4”)
EVQLRESGPSLVRPSQTLSLTCSVTGDSFTSG
SEQ ID NO: 62


Heavy chain
YWNWIRKFPGNELESMGYISYSGSTYYNPSL



variable region
KSRISITRDTSKSQFYLQLSSVTAEDTATYYC




ARSEGWLLPFAYWGQGTLVTVSA






24-1F4 (“1F4”)
DIVMSQSPSSLPVSVGEKVTMSCKSSQSLLYS
SEQ ID NO: 63


Light chain
SNQKNSLAWYQQKPGQSPKLLIYWASTRES



variable region
GVPDRFTGSGSGTDFTLTISSVQAEDLSVYY




CQQYYGYPFTFGSGTKLEIK
















TABLE 2







Kabat CDR




















VH
SEQ
VH
SEQ
VH
SEQ
VL
SEQ
VL
SEQ
VL
SEQ


Anti-
CD
ID
CD
ID
CD
ID
CD
ID
CD
ID
CDR
ID


body
R1
NO:
R2
NO:
R3
NO:
R1
NO:
R2
NO:
3
NO:





07-
SFG
7
YIS
8
NG
9
SAS
10
DTS
11
QQ
12


6A11
MH

SGS

YD

SSV

KLA

WST






NTI

GW

SYI

S

NPF






YY

YA

H



T






ADT

MD












VK

Y












G














08-
SGY
13
YIH
14
EGY
15
RAS
16
YAS
17
QQS
18


3F2
NW

HSS

DY

QSI

QSI

KSW




H

ITN

DWF

sNN

S

PFT






YNP

AY

LH










SLK














S














17-
DY
19
VISI
20
EDY
21
SAS
22
RTS
23
QQ
24


7E4
AIH

YY

YGS

SSV

NLA

WSG






GEA

SSY

SSS

S

Y






SYN

FDY

YLH



PYT






QKF














KD














23-
SYD
64
AIW
65
DPY
66
HAS
67
KAS
68
QQG
69


2A6
IS

TGG

YY

QNL

NLH

QSY






GTN

AM

NV

T

PRT






YNS

DY

WL










AF



S










MS











23-
SGY
70
YIS
71
YEG
72
KSS
73
WAS
74
QQY
75


4A8
WN

YTG

WL

QSL

TRE

YGY






STY

LPF

LYS

S

PFT






YNP

AY

SNQ










SLK



KSS










S



LA










33-
TYY
76
GIN
77
DG
78
SAS
79
STS
80
QQR
81


10C9
IY

PYN

NY 

STV

NLA

SSSP






GGT

VD

SYV

S

PT






SFN

Y

H










EKF














ES














24-
SGY
82
YIS
83
SEG
84
KSS
85
WAS
86
QQY
87


IF4
WN

YSG

WL

QSL

TRE

YGY






STY

LPF

LYS

S

PFT






YNP

AY

SNQ










SLK



KNS










S



LA
















TABLE 3







Chothia CDR




















VH
SEQ
VH
SEQ
VH
SEQ
VL
SEQ
VL
SEQ
VL
SEQ


Anti
CD
ID
CD
ID
CD
ID
CD
ID
CD
ID
CDR
ID


body
R1
NO:
R2
NO:
R3
NO:
Rl
NO:
R2
NO:
3
NO:






















07-
GFT
25
SSG
26
NG
9
SAS
10
DTS
11
QQ
12


6A1
FSS

SNT

YD

SSV

KLA

WST



1
FG



GW

SYI

S

NPF




MH



YA

H



T








MD














Y












08-
GY
27
HHS
28
EGY
15
RAS
16
YAS
17
QQS
18


3F2
SIT

SI

DY

QSI

QSI

KSW




SGY



DWF

SNN

S

PFT




NW



AY

LH








H
















17-
GF
29
SIY
30
EDY
21
SAS
22
RTS
23
QQ
24


7E4
KFT

YGE

YGS

SSV

NLA

WSG




DY



SSY

SSS

S

Y




AIH



FDY

YLH



PYT






23-
GFS
88
WTG
89
DPY
90
HAS
91
KAS
92
QQG
93


2A6
LTS

GG

YY

QNL

NLH

QSY




YDI



AM

NV

T

PRT




S



DY

WL














S










23-
GD
94
SYT
95
YEG
96
KSS
97
WAS
98
QQY
99


4A8
SIT

GS

WL

QSL

TRE

YGY




SG



LPF

LYS

S

PFT




YW



AY

SNQ








N





KSS










33-
GY
100
NPY
101
DG
102
LA
103
STS
104
QQR
105


10C9
TFT

NG

NY

SAS

NLA

SSSP




TY

G

VD

STV

S

PT




YIY



Y

SYV














H










24-
GD
106
SYS
107
SEG
108
KSS
109
WAS
110
QQY
111


1F4
SFT

GS

WL

QSL

TRE

YGY




SG



LPF

LYS

S

PFT




YW



AY

SNQ








N





KNS














LA









Example 2. Humanization of Antibodies

Then, the murine antibodies were humanized. Specifically, partial amino acid sequences of the heavy chain variable region and light chain variable region of the murine antibodies 6A11, 3F2 and 7E4 were replaced with humanized sequences to optimize the binding affinity with the antigen and improve the drug-like properties of these antibodies. For each antibody, more than one humanized heavy chain variable region and light chain variable region sequences were generated. The amino acid sequences of the humanized heavy chain variable region and light chain variable region were shown in Table 4 below.









TABLE 4







Variable region sequences of the humanized antibodies









Variable region of




the humanized




antibody
Amino acid sequence
SEQ ID NO:





6A11
EVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCAASGFTFSSFGMHWVR
31


Humanized heavy
QAPGKGLEWVSYISSGSNTIYYADTVKGRFTISRDNAK



chain variable region
NSLYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCARNGYDGWYAMDYWG



(H1)
QGTTVTVSS






6A11
EVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCAASGFTFSSFGMHWVR
32


Humanized heavy
QAPGKGLEWVSYISSGSNTIYYADTVKGRFTISRDNAK



chain variable region
NSLYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCTRNGYDGWYAMDYWG



(H2)
QGTTVTVSS






6A11
EVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSRRLSCAASGFTFSSFGMHWVR
33


Humanized heavy
QAPGKGLEWVAYISSGSNTIYYADTVKGRFTISRDNAK



chain variable region
NSLYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCTRNGYDGWYAMDYWG



(H3)
QGTTVTVSS






6A11
EVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSRRLSCAASGFTFSSFGMHWVR
34


Humanized heavy
QAPGKGLEWVAYISSGSNTIYYADTVKGRFTISRDNPK



chain variable region
NSLYLQMNSLRAEDTAIYYCTRNGYDGWYAMDYWGQ



(H4)
GTTVTVSS






6A11
EIVLTQSPATLSLSPGERATLSCSASSSVSYIHWYQQKPG
35


Humanized light
QAPRRLIYDTSKLASGIPARFSGSGSGTDFTLTISSLEPED



chain variable region
FATYYCQQWSTNPFTFGQGTKLEIKR



(K1)







6A11
EIVLTQSPATLSASPGERATLSCSASSSVSYIHWYQQKP
36


Humanized light
GQAPRRLIYDTSKLASGIPARFSGSGSGTDYTLTISSLEP



chain variable region
EDAATYYCQQWSTNPFTFGQGTKLEIKR



(K2)







6A11
EIVLTQSPATLSASPGERATLSCSASSSVSYIHWFQQKPG
37


Humanized light
QSPRRWIYDTSKLASGIPARFSGSGSGTDYTLTISSMEPE



chain variable region
DFATYYCQQWSTNPFTFGQGTKLEIKR



(K3)







6A11
EIVLTQSPATLSASPGERATLSCSASSSVSYIHWFQQKPG
38


Humanized light
QSPRRWIYDTSKLASGIPARFSGSGSGTSYTLTISSMEPE



chain variable region
DAATYYCQQWSTNPFTFGQGTKLEIKR



(K4)







3F2
QVQLQESGPGLVKPSETLSLTCTVSGYSITSGYNWHWIR
39


Humanized heavy
QFPGNGLEWMGYIHHSSITNYNPSLKSRITISRDTSKNQF



chain variable region
SLKLSSVTAADTATYYCAREGYDYDWFAYWGQGTLV



(H1)
TVSS






3F2
DVQLQESGPGLVKPSETLSLTCTVSGYSITSGYNWHWIR
40


Humanized heavy
QFPGNGLEWMGYIHHSSITNYNPSLKSRITISRDTSKNQF



chain variable region
SLKLSSVTAADTATFYCAREGYDYDWFAYWGQGTLVT



(H2)
VSS



3F2
DVQLQESGPGLVKPSETLSLTCTVSGYSITSGYNWHWIR
41


Humanized heavy
QFPGNGLEWMGYIHHSSITNYNPSLKSRITISRDTSKNQF



chain variable region
SLKLSSVTAEDTATFYCAREGYDYDWFAYWGQGTLVT



(H3)
VSS






3F2
DVQLQESGPGLVKPSETLSLTCTVSGYSITSGYNWHWIR
42


Humanized heavy
QFPGNKLEWMGYIHHSSITNYNPSLKSRITISRDTSKNQF



chain variable region
FLQLSSVTAEDTATFYCAREGYDYDWFAYWGQGTLVT



(H4)
VSS






3F2
DIVIAQSPdfqSVTPkekVtitCRASQSISNNLHWYQQKpdES
43


Humanized light
PkLLIKYASQSISGIPSRFSGSGSGTDFTIAINSVEaEDFaM



chain variable region
YFCQQSKSWPFTFGqGTRLEIK



(K1)







3F2
DIVLTQSPDFQSVTPKEKVTLSCRASQSISNNLHWYQQK
44


Humanized light
PDESPKLLIKYASQSISGIPSRFSGSGSGTDFTLTINSVEA



chain variable region
EDFAMYFCQQSKSWPFTFGQGTRLEIK



(K2)







3F2
DIVLTQSPDTQSVTPKESVTLSCRASQSISNNLHWYQQK
45


Humanized light
SHESPKLLIKYASQSISGIPSRFSGSGSGTDFTLTINSVEA



chain variable region
EDFAMYFCQQSKSWPFTFGQGTRLEIK



(K3)







7E4
QVQLVQSGAEVKKPGASVKVSCKASGFKFTDYAIHWV
46


Humanized heavy
RQAPGQSLEWMGVISIYYGEASYNQKFKDRVTLTVDTS



chain variable region
ASTAYMELSSLRSEDTAVYYCAREDYYGSSSYFDYWG



(H1)
QGTLVTVSS






7E4
QVQLVQSGAEVKKPGASVKVSCKASGFKFTDYAIHWV
47


Humanized heavy
RQAPGKSLEWMGVISIYYGEASYNQKFKDRVTLTVDTS



chain variable region
ASTAYMELSSLRSEDTAVYYCAREDYYGSSSYFDYWG



(H2)
QGTLVTVSS






7E4
QVQLVQSGAEVVKPGASVKISCKGSGFKFTDYAIHWVR
48


Humanized heavy
QAPGKSLEWMGVISIYYGEASYNQKFKDKVTLTVDTSA



chain variable region
STAYMELSSLRSEDTAIYYCAREDYYGSSSYFDYWGQG



(H3)
TLLTVSS






7E4
DNQLTQSPSFLSASVGDRVTITCSASSSVSSSYLHWYQQ
49


Humanized light
KPGAAPKPLIHRTSNLASGVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTLTISSL



chain variable region
QPEDFATYYCQQWSGYPYTFGGGTKLEIK



(K1)







7E4
DNVLTQSPSFLSASVGDRVTMTCSASSSVSSSYLHWYQ
50


Humanized light
QKPGASPKPLIHRTSNLASGVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTLTISSL



chain variable region
QPEDFATYYCQQWSGYPYTFGGGTKLEIK



(K2)







7E4
ENVLTQSPSFLSASVGDRVTMTCSASSSVSSSYLHWYQ
51


Humanized light
QKSGASPKPLIHRTSNLASGVPSRFSGSGSGTEYTLTISS



chain variable region
VQPEDFATYYCQQWSGYPYTFGGGTKLEIK



(K3)









Example 3. Binding Testing of Antibodies

Blocking the binding of PD-L1 and PD-1 This assay was used to determine whether the anti-PD-L1 antibodies can block the binding of PD-L1 and PD-1. The test was detailed as follows: a 96-well cell culture plate was used, and CHO-hPD-L1 cells expressing human PD-L1 protein (25 μl, 2×104 cells/well) were added to each well. The purified ascites were titrated to the concentration of 50 μg/ml, 5 μg/ml, 0.5 μg/ml, 0.05 μg/ml, and 0.005 μg/ml. 25 μl of serum diluted at 1:100 was added to each well at 4° C. and incubated for 30 minutes. 50 μl of Biotin-hPD-1 protein diluted to 0.4 μg/ml was added to each well at 4° C. and incubated for 15 minutes. The 96-well cell culture plate was centrifuged at 1200 rpm for 5 minutes and washed twice with PBS. Subsequently, 50 μl of anti-mouse IgG Fc-FITC at 1:100 dilution and streptavidin-PE secondary antibody at 1:100 dilution were added to each well, and incubated at 4° C. for 30 minutes. Subsequently, the 96-well cell culture plate was centrifuged at 1200 rpm for 5 minutes, and washed once with PBS. Then 200 μl of PBS was added to each well, and flow cytometry analysis was performed.


As shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C, when the concentration of the purified anti-PD-L1 antibodies (08-3F2, 07-6A11 and 17-7E4) and the chimeric anti-PD-L1 antibodies (24-1F4-mHvKv-IgG1, 33-10C9-mHvKv-IgG1, 23-2A6-mHvKv-IgG1, 23-4A8-mHvKv-IgG1) increased, the fluorescence intensity of the PE-labeled Biotin-hPD-1 decreased, suggesting that the binding between human PD-L1 and PD-1 was blocked by anti-PD-L1 antibodies of the present invention.


Cross-Reactivity Testing of Antibodies

The rhesus monkey PD-L1 protein coding sequence (rmPD-L1, SEQ ID NO: 54), the mouse PD-L1 protein coding sequence (mPD-L1, SEQ ID NO: 53), and the human-mouse chimeric PD-L1 (the extracellular region of the mouse PD-L1 protein was replaced with human protein fragments) protein coding sequence (chiPD-L1, SEQ ID NO: 55) were transferred into CHO cells for protein expression and used for the antibody cross-reactivity testing. The amino acid sequences of the above-mentioned PD-L1 proteins were shown in Table 5 below.









TABLE 5







PD-L1 protein sequences of different species











SEQ ID


Protein
Amino acid sequence
NO:





Human PD-
MRIFAVFIFM TYWHLLNAFT VTVPKDLYVV EYGSNMTIEC
52


L1l (hPD-
KFPVEKQLDL AALIVYWEME DKNIIQFVHG EEDLKVQHSS



L1)
YRQRARLLKD       QLSLGNAALQ      ITDVKLQDAG



NP_054862 
VYRCMISYGG ADYKRITVKV NAPYNKINQR ILVVDPVTSE



.1
HELTCQAEGY PKAEVIWTSS DHQVLSGKTT TTNSKREEKL




FNVTSTLRIN TTTNEIFYCT FRRLDPEENH TAELVIPELP




LAHPPNERTH LVILGAILLC LGVALTFIFR LRKGRMMDVK




KCGIQDTNSK KQSDTHLEET






Mouse PD-
MRIFAGIIFT ACCHLLRAFT ITAPKDLYVV EYGSNVTMEC
53


Ll (mPD-
RFPVERELDL LALVVYWEKE DEQVIQFVAG EEDLKPQHSN



L1)
FRGRASLPKD QLLKGNAALQ ITDVKLQDAG VYCCIISYGG



NP_068693 
ADYKRITLKV NAPYRKINQR ISVDPATSEH ELICQAEGYP



.1
EAEVIWTNSD HQPVSGKRSV TTSRTEGMLL NVTSSLRVNA




TANDVFYCTF WRSQPGQNHT AELIIPELPA THPPQNRTHW




VLLGSILLFL IVVSTVLLFL RKQVRMLDVE KCGVEDTSSK




NRNDTQFEET






Rhesus
MRIFAVFIFT IYWHLLNAFT VTVPKDLYVV EYGSNMTIEC
54


monkey
RFPVEKQLGL TSLIVYWEME DKNIIQFVHG EEDLKVQHSN



PD-L1
YRQRAQLLKD       QLSLGNAALR      ITDVKLQDAG



(rmPD-L1) 
VYRCMISYGG ADYKRITVKV NAPYNKINQR ILVVDPVTSE



NP_001077 
HELTCQAEGY PKAEVIWTSS DHQVLSGKTT TTNSKREEKL



358.1
LNVTSTLRIN TTANEIFYCI FRRLGPEENH TAELVIPELP




LALPPNERTH LVILGAIFLL LGVALTFIFY LRKGRMMDMK




KSGIRVTNSK KQRDTQLEET






Chimeric
MRIFAGIIFTACCHLLRAFTVTVPKDLYVVEYGSNMTIECKFP
55


PD-L1
VEKQLDLAALIVYWEMEDKNIIQFVHGEEDLKVQHSSYRQRA



(chiPD-L1)
RLLKDQLSLGNAALQITDVKLQDAGVYRCMISYGGADYKRIT




VKVNAPYRKINQRISVDPATSEHELICQAEGYPEAEVIWTNSD




HQPVSGKRSVTTSR1EGMLLNVTSSLRVNATANDVFYCTFWR




SQPGQNHTAELIIPELPATHPPQNRTHWVLLGSILLFLIVVSTVL




LFLRKQVRMLDVEKCGVEDTSSKNRNDTQFEET









The test was detailed as follows: a 96-well cell culture plate was used, and the above-mentioned CHO cells expressing different PD-L1 proteins (25 μl, 2×104 cells/well) was added to each well, and then 25 μl of the ascites purified anti-PD-L1 antibodies (1 μg/ml) were added to each well. The mixture was incubated at 4° C. for 30 minutes. The 96-well cell culture plate was centrifuged at 1200 rpm for 5 minutes and washed twice with PBS. Subsequently, 50 μl of anti-mouse IgG Fc-FITC at 1:100 dilution was added to each well, and was incubated at 4° C. for 30 minutes. Subsequently, the 96-well cell culture plate was centrifuged at 1200 rpm for 5 minutes, and washed once with PBS. Then 200 μl of PBS was added to each well, and flow cytometry analysis was performed.


As shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, three ascites purified anti-PD-L1 antibodies (08-3F2, 07-6A11 and 17-7E4) and four anti-PD-L1 chimeric antibodies (24-1F4-mHvKv-IgG1, 33-10C9-mHvKv-IgG1, 23-2A6-mHvKv-IgG1, 23-4A8-mHvKv-IgG1) did not cross react with the murine PD-L1 protein, but had a strong cross reactivity with the rhesus monkey PD-L1 protein and human-mouse chimeric PD-L1 protein.


Binding Affinity Testing of Antibodies

Subsequently, the binding affinity of the anti-PD-L1 chimeric antibody, humanized antibody, and marketed control antibody to hPD-L1-His (manufactured by Edison) were determined by surface plasmon resonance (Biacore T200 biosensor, Biacore, INC, Piscataway N.J.) equipped with pre-immobilized Protein A sensor chips.


The test was detailed as follows: the anti-PD-L1 chimeric antibodies (07-6A11-mHvKv-IgG1, 17-7E4-mHvKv-IgG1, 08-3F2-mHvKv-IgG1, 23-2A6-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A, 23-4A8-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A, 24-1F4-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A, 33-10C9-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A, 0.5 ug/ml), marketed antibodies (Atezolizumab, Avelumab, Duralumab, 0.5 ug/ml) used as control antibodies, and humanized antibodies (6A11-H1K3-IgG1, 6A11-H1K4-IgG1, 6A11-H2K3-IgG1, 6A11-H2K4-IgG1, 6A11-H3K3-IgG1, 6A11-H3K4-IgG1, 6A11-H4K3-IgG1, 6A11-H4K4-IgG1, 7E4-H1K1-IgG1, 7E4-H1K2-IgG1, 7E4-H1K3-IgG1, 7E4-H2K1-IgG1, 7E4-H2K2-IgG1, 7E4-H2K3-IgG1, 7E4-H3K1-IgG1, 7E4-H3K2-IgG1, 7E4-H3K3-IgG1, 3F2-H1K1-IgG1, 3F2-H1K2-IgG1, 3F2-H1K3-IgG1, 3F2-H2K1-IgG1, 3F2-H2K2-IgG1, 3F2-H2K3-IgG1, 3F2-H3K1-IgG1, 3F2-H3K2-IgG1 3F2-H3K3-IgG1, 3F2-H4K1-IgG1, 3F2-H4K2-IgG1 and 3F2-H4K3-IgG1) were injected into the sensor chip (10 μl/min, 25 s) to achieve to a protein density at about 45-65RU. Then the hPD-L1-His proteins were injected into the sensor chip (30 μl/min, 100-400 s) at a concentration of 200 nM, 100 nM, 50 nM, 25 nM, 12.5 nM, 6.25 nM, 3.125 nM, 1.5625 nM or 0.78125 nM, and the dissociation was monitored for 300-1000 seconds. The detection results were read after the chip was regenerated with pH 2.0 glycine (30 μl/min, 10-20 s). Kinetic association rates (kon) and dissociation rates (koff) were obtained simultaneously by fitting the data globally to a 1:1 Langmuir binding model (Karlsson, R. Roos, H. Fagerstam, L. Petersson, B., 1994. Methods Enzymology 6. 99-110) using Biacore T200 Evaluation Software 3.0. Affinities were deduced from the quotient of the kinetic rate constants (KD=koff/kon). The results for the tested antibodies are summarized in Table 6.









TABLE 6







Binding Affinity of the anti-PD-L1 antibodies











Association
Dissociation




rate kon
rate koff
Affinity KD


Anti-PD-L1 antibody
(1/Ms)
(1/s)
(M)














Chimeric
07-6A11-mHvKv-IgG1
2.519E+05 
9.004E−04 
3.574E−09 


antibody
17-7E4-mHvKv-IgG1
1.510E+05 
8.048E−04 
5.331E−09 



08-3F2-mHvKv-IgG1
1.621E+06 
4.304E−04 
2.656E−10 



23-2A6-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A
5.73E+05
2.66E−03
4.64E−09



23-4A8-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A
3.61E+05
5.32E−04
1.47E−09



24-1F4-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A
4.61E+05
2.32E−04
5.04E−10



33-10C9-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A
1.22E+05
1.96E−04
1.60E−09


Control
Atezolizumab
1.144E+05 
2.710E−04 
2.369E−09 


antibody
Avelumab
2.047E+04 
5.928E−05 
2.896E−09 



Durvalumab
9.891E+05 
2.057E−04 
2.079E−10 


6A11
6A11-H1K3-IgG1
1.45E+05
1.13E−03
7.80E−09


humanized
6A11-H1K4-IgG1
1.49E+05
1.24E−03
8.29E−09


antibody
6A11-H2K3-IgG1
1.62E+05
1.30E−03
8.07E−09



6A11-H2K4-IgG1
2.18E+05
1.53E−03
7.01E−09



6A11-H3K3-IgG1
2.65E+05
1.30E−03
4.91E−09



6A11-H3K4-IgG1
2.58E+05
1.68E−03
6.52E−09



6A11-H4K3-IgG1
2.33E+05
1.65E−03
7.09E−09



6A11-H4K4-IgG1
2.08E+05
2.00E−03
9.59E−09


7E4
7E4-H1K1-IgG1
1.18E+05
3.13E−03
2.65E−08


humanized
7E4-H1K2-IgG1
1.26E+05
2.50E−03
1.98E−08


antibody
7E4-H1K3-IgG1
1.28E+05
1.70E−03
1.33E−08



7E4-H2K1-IgG1
1.28E+05
3.44E−03
2.70E−08



7E4-H2K2-IgG1
1.23E+05
2.70E−03
2.19E−08



7E4-H2K3-IgG1
1.28E+05
1.63E−03
1.27E−08



7E4-H3K1-IgG1
1.47E+05
3.52E−03
2.39E−08



7E4-H3K2-IgG1
1.55E+05
2.99E−03
1.93E−08



7E4-H3K3-IgG1
1.50E+05
2.18E−03
1.45E−08


3F2
3F2-H1K1-IgG1
9.81E+05
7.72E−04
7.87E−10


humanized
3F2-H1K2-IgG1
1.06E+06
7.32E−04
6.90E−10


antibody
3F2-H1K3-IgG1
1.09E+06
8.74E−04
8.05E−10



3F2-H2K1-IgG1
1.13E+06
7.92E−04
7.00E−10



3F2-H2K2-IgG1
1.17E+06
9.46E−04
8.10E−10



3F2-H2K3-IgG1
1.16E+06
8.81E−04
7.58E−10



3F2-H3K1-IgG1
1.13E+06
7.93E−04
6.99E−10



3F2-H3K2-IgG1
1.21E+06
7.53E−04
6.23E−10



3F2-H3K3-IgG1
1.32E+06
8.27E−04
6.25E−10



3F2-H4K1-IgG1
1.33E+06
6.26E−04
4.71E−10



3F2-H4K2-IgG1
1.30E+06
6.17E−04
4.75E−10



3F2-H4K3-IgG1
1.39E+06
6.96E−04
5.02E−10









Example 4. Thermal Stability of Antibodies

Thermofluor assay analysis was performed using Protein Thermal Shift Dye Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and QuantStudio™ 5 Real Time PCR Systems (Thermo Fisher Scientific). This assay measured thermostability using a fluorescent dye that binds to hydrophobic patches exposed as the protein unfolds after heating. The experiments were performed according to the manufacturer's protocol, 2 μl of the antibody, 10.5 μl of water, 5 μl of Protein Thermal Shift buffer and 2.5 μl of Protein Thermal Shift Dye were mixed, and heated to 25° C. at 1.6° C./second, and then heated to 99° C. at 0.05° C./second. The denaturation temperature T value of the antibody was tested (if there were two transition peaks, the second denaturation of the Fab domains was treated as Tm).


Table 7 showed the T values of the chimeric antibodies and humanized antibodies. Further to reduce antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), antibodies were engineered to reduce glycan heterogeneity to improve the efficacy and safety. Some amino acids in Fc regions of the antibody were replaced, for example, N297A mutation.









TABLE 7







Thermal stability of the antibodies











Tm value


Antibody type
Antibody name
(° C.)












3F2 chimeric antibody
08-3F2-mHvKv-IgG1
74.46


3F2 humanized antibody
3F2-H1K1-IgG1
79.71



3F2-H1K2-IgG1
80.00



3F2-H1K3-IgG1
78.38



3F2-H2K1-IgG1
71.87



3F2-H2K2-IgG1
71.80



3F2-H2K3-IgG1
70.47



3F2-H3K1-IgG1
72.31



3F2-H3K2-IgG1
72.54



3F2-H3K3-IgG1
71.21



3F2-H4K1-IgG1
75.86



3F2-H4K2-IgG1
76.01



3F2-H4K3-IgG1
74.46


7E4 chimeric antibody
17-7E4-mHvKv-IgG1
74.09


7E4 humanized antibody
7E4-H1K1-IgG1
81.78



7E4-H1K2-IgG1
82.82



7E4-H1K3-IgG1
84.3



7E4-H2K1-IgG1
82.08



7E4-H2K2-IgG1
82.89



7E4-H2K3-IgG1
83.41



7E4-H3K1-IgG1
82.59



7E4-H3K2-IgG1
83.11



7E4-H3K3-IgG1
83.63


6A11 chimeric antibody
07-6A11-mHvKv-IgG1
75.53



07-6A11-mHvKv-IgG4
76.09



07-6A11-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A
76.87


6A11 humanized antibody
6A11-H1K1-IgG1
78.05



6A11-H1K3-IgG1
67.25



6A11-H1K4-IgG1
70.21



6A11-H2K1-IgG1
76.87



6A11-H2K3-IgG1
64.81



6A11-H2K4-IgG1
68.80



6A11-H3K1-IgG1
77.01



6A11-H3K3-IgG1
65.10



6A11-H3K4-IgG1
68.80



6A11-H4K1-IgG1
75.98



6A11-H4K3-IgG1
63.25



6A11-H4K4-IgG1
67.17









Example 5. In Vivo Efficacy Testing of Antibodies

In order to detect the in vivo efficacy of anti-PD-L1 antibodies, humanized mice with PD-L1 gene were used to generate tumor animal models. The mouse express the human-mouse chimeric PD-L1 protein (SEQ ID NO: 55), wherein the extracellular region of the mouse PD-L1 protein was replaced by a human sequence: amino acids 21-128 of the mouse PD-L1 protein (SEQ ID NO: 53) was replaced by amino acids 21-128 of human PD-L1 protein (SEQ ID NO: 52). The B-hPD-L1 mouse model provided a new tool for preclinical animal experiments of PD-L1 monoclonal antibody testing, by which significantly improved the predictability of clinical trials (see PCT application number PCT/CN 2017/099574 and Chinese application number 201710757022.6, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety).


The tumor animal model was prepared as follows: B-hPD-L1 mice were inoculated with mouse MC-38 cells (colon cancer cells) with humanized PD-L1 gene by subcutaneous injection. After the tumor volume reached 150±50 mm3, the mice were randomly divided into an anti-PD-L1 antibody treatment group and control group (physiological saline), and administered by intraperitoneal injection. The body weight and tumor volume of the mice were measured regularly twice a week. Tumor volume (mm3)=0.5×long diameter×short diameter2. The injected volume (0.3 mg/kg or 3 mg/kg) was calculated based on the body weight of the mouse.


The tumor growth inhibition percentage (TGI) was calculated using the following formula: TGI (%)=[1−(Ti−T0)/(Vi−V0)]×100, where Ti is the average tumor volume on day i in the treatment group; T0 is the average tumor volume on day 0 of the treatment group; Vi is the average tumor volume on day i of the control group; and V0 is the average tumor volume on day 0 of the control group. T-test was performed for statistical analysis. A TGI % higher than 60% indicates significant suppression of tumor growth. P<0.05 is a threshold to indicate significant difference.


In Vivo Efficacy Result of Anti-PD-L1 Murine Antibodies 08-3F2, 17-7E4, 17-8E9 and 07-6A11

A total of thirty B-hPD-L1 mice (5-6 weeks) were subcutaneously injected with MC38-hPD-L1 cells (5×105/mouse). When the tumor reached a volume of 150±50 mm3, the mice were randomly placed into 7 groups, with 5 mice in each group. The treatment groups were treated with anti-PD-L1 antibodies 08-3F2, 17-7E4, 17-8E9, 07-6A11 or the positive control antibody Atezolizumab respectively by intraperitoneal injection at a dose of 3 mg/kg, and the control group was injected with physiological saline, and administered on day 1, 3, and 5 of each week. The body weight and tumor volume of the mice were measured twice a week until the end of the experiment after 3 weeks. As shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the average body weight of the mice in the control group and the treatment groups increased steadily during the entire treatment period, and there was no significant difference between the groups, indicating that these anti-PD-L1 antibodies were not obviously toxic to the mice. As shown in FIG. 4 (tumor volume data, 21 days after grouping), compared with the control group, the tumor growth in the treatment groups were inhibited to different extents. Table 8 below showed the TGI % results for each group.









TABLE 8







Tumor growth inhibition rate













Average tumor




Group
Antibody
volume (mm3)
TGI %
P value





G1
Physiological saline (PS)
2143 ± 410




G2
08-3F2 (3 mg/kg)
264 ± 82
94.2%
0.002


G3
17-7E4 (3 mg/kg)
 544 ± 232
80.2%
0.009


G4
17-8E9 (3 mg/kg)
1017 ± 302
56.4%
0.058


G5
07-6A11 (3 mg/kg)
 345 ± 114
90.1%
0.003


G6
Atezolizumab (3 mg/kg)
 627 ± 216
76.0%
0.011









The above results indicate that the anti-PD-L1 murine antibodies of the present invention 08-3F2, 07-6A11, 17-7E4 and 17-8E9 exhibited tumor inhibitory effects, wherein the 08-3F2, 07-6A11 and 17-7E4 treatment groups obtained better tumor inhibitory effect as compared to that of positive control antibody Atezolizumab.


In Vivo Efficacy Testing of Chimeric Antibodies 07-6A11-mHvKv-IgG1, 07-6A11-mHvKv-IgG4, and 07-6A11-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A


A total of thirty B-hPD-L1 mice (5-6 weeks) were subcutaneously injected with MC38-hPD-L1 cells (5×105/mouse). When the tumor reached a volume of 150±50 mm3, the mice were randomly placed into 7 groups, with 5 mice in each group. The treatment groups were treated with anti-PD-L1 chimeric antibodies 07-6A11-mHvKv-IgG1, 07-6A11-mHvKv-IgG4, 07-6A11-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A, or murine antibody 07-6A11 respectively by intraperitoneal injection, and the control group was treated with hIgG antibody at a dose of 3 mg/kg, and administered on day 1, 3, and 5 of the week. The body weight and tumor volume of the mice were measured twice a week until the end of the experiment after 3 weeks. The average body weight of the mice in the control group and the treatment groups increased steadily during the entire treatment, and there was no significant difference between the groups, indicating that these anti-PD-L1 antibodies were not obviously toxic to the mice. In addition, compared with the control group, the tumor growth in the treatment groups were inhibited to different extents.


In Vivo Efficacy Testing of Chimeric Antibodies 08-3F2-mHvKv-IgG4, 08-3F2-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A, 17-7E4-mHvKv-IgG4 and 17-7E4-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A


A total of thirty-five B-hPD-L1 mice (5-6 weeks) were subcutaneously injected with MC38-hPD-L1 cells (5×105/mouse). When the tumor reached a volume of 150±50 mm3, the mice were randomly placed into 7 groups, with 5 mice in each group. The treatment groups were treated with anti-PD-L1 chimeric antibodies 08-3F2-mHvKv-IgG4, 08-3F2-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A, 17-7E4-mHvKv-IgG4, 17-7E4-mHvKv-IgG1-N297A, or murine antibodies 07-6A11 or 08-3F2 respectively by intraperitoneal injection at a dose of 3 mg/kg, and the control group was injected with physiological saline, and administered on day 1, 3, and 5 of the week. The body weight and tumor volume of the mice were measured twice a week, and until the end of the experiment after 3 weeks. The average body weight of the mice in the control group and the treatment groups increased steadily during the entire treatment, and there was no significant difference between the groups, indicating that these anti-PD-L1 antibodies were not obviously toxic to the mice. In addition, compared with the control group, the tumor growth in the treatment groups were inhibited to different extents.


In Vivo Efficacy Testing of Chimeric Antibodies 33-10C9-mHvKv-IgG1, 24-1F4-mHvKv-IgG1, 23-2A6-mHvKv-IgG1, 23-4A8-mHvKv-IgG1, 23-2A5-mHvKv-IgG1 and 24-1C3-mHvKv-IgG1


A total of thirty-five B-hPD-L1 mice (5-6 weeks) were subcutaneously injected with MC38-hPD-L1 cells (5×105/mouse). When the tumor reached a volume of 150±50 mm3, the mice were randomly placed into 7 groups, with 5 mice in each group. The treatment groups were treated with anti-PD-L1 chimeric antibodies 33-10C9-mHvKv-IgG1, 24-1F4-mHvKv-IgG1, 23-2A6-mHvKv-IgG1, 23-4A8-mHvKv-IgG1, 23-2A5-mHvKv-IgG1 or 24-1C3-mHvKv-IgG1 respectively by intraperitoneal injection at a dose of 3 mg/kg, and the control group was injected with physiological saline, and administered on day 1, 3, and 5 of the week. The body weight and tumor volume of the mice were measured twice a week until the end of the experiment after 3 weeks. As shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the average body weight of the mice in the control group and the treatment groups increased steadily during the entire treatment, and there was no significant difference between the groups, indicating that these anti-PD-L1 antibodies were not obviously toxic to the mice. As shown in FIG. 6 (tumor volume data, 25 days after grouping), compared with the control group, the tumor growth in the treatment groups were inhibited to different extents. Among them, the chimeric antibody 23-2A6-mHvKv-IgG1 exhibited the best inhibitory effect, followed by 33-10C9-mHvKv-IgG1 and 23-4A8-mHvKv-IgG1. Table 9 below showed the TGI % results for each group.









TABLE 9







Tumor growth inhibition rate













Average tumor




Group
Antibody
volume (mm3)
TGI %
P value





G1
Physiological saline (PS)
1878 ± 625 




G2
33-10C9-mHvKv-IgG1 (3 mg/kg)
932 ± 221
50.4%
0.191


G3
24-1F4-mHvKv-IgG1 (3 mg/kg)
986 ± 271
47.5%
0.226


G4
23-2A6-mHvKv-IgG1 (3 mg/kg)
745 ± 151
60.3%
0.116


G5
23-4A8-mHvKv-IgG1 (3 mg/kg)
937 ± 314
50.1%
0.215


G6
23-2A5-mHvKv-IgG1 (3 mg/kg)
1139 ± 145 
39.4%
0.282


G7
24-1C3-mHvKv-IgG1 (3 mg/kg)
1211 ± 193 
35.5%
0.337









In Vivo Efficacy Testing of Humanized Antibodies 6A11-H1K3-IgG1-N297A, 6A11-H1K4-IgG1-N297A, 3F2-H1K1-IgG1-N297A, 3F2-H1K2-IgG1-N297A, 7E4-H1K1-IgG1-N297A and 7E4-H2K1-IgG1-N297A

A total of fifty-six B-hPD-L1 mice (5-6 weeks) were subcutaneously injected with MC38-hPD-L1 cells (5×105/mouse). When the tumor reached a volume of 150±50 mm3, the mice were randomly placed into 7 groups, with 8 mice in each group. The treatment groups were treated with anti-PD-L1 humanized antibodies 6A11-H1K3-IgG1-N297A, 6A11-H1K4-IgG1-N297A, 3F2-H1K1-IgG1-N297A, 3F2-H1K2-IgG1-N297A, 7E4-H1K1-IgG1-N297A or 7E4-H2K1-IgG1-N297A respectively by intraperitoneal injection at a dose of 3 mg/kg, and the control group was injected with physiological saline, and administered on day 2 and 5 of the week. The body weight and tumor volume of the mice were measured twice a week until the end of the experiment after 3 weeks. As shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, the average body weight of the mice in the control group and the treatment groups increased steadily during the entire treatment period, and there was no significant difference between the groups, indicating that these anti-PD-L1 antibodies were not obviously toxic to the mice. As shown in FIG. 8 (tumor volume data, 24 days after grouping), compared with the control group, the tumor growth in the treatment groups were inhibited to different extents. Among them, the humanized antibody 6A11-H1K3-IgG1-N297A exhibited the best inhibitory effect, followed by 3F2-H1K2-IgG1-N297A. Table 10 below showed the TGI % results for each group.









TABLE 10







Tumor growth inhibition rate













Average tumor




Group
Antibody
volume (mm3)
TGI %
P value





G1
Physiological saline (PS)
2133 ± 210




G2
6A11-H1K3-IgG1-N297A (3 mg/kg)
1009 ± 225
55.7%
0.003


G3
6A11-H1K4-IgG1-N297A (3 mg/kg)
1154 ± 279
48.6%
0.014


G4
3F2-H1K1-IgG1-N297A (3 mg/kg)
1298 ± 213
41.4%
0.014


G5
3F2-H1K2-IgG1-N297A (3 mg/kg)
1124 ± 242
50.0%
0.007


G6
7E4-H1K1-IgG1-N297A (3 mg/kg)
1530 ± 287
29.8%
0.112


G7
7E4-H2K1-IgG1-N297A (3 mg/kg)
1137 ± 213
49.4%
0.005









In Vivo Efficacy Testing at Different Dose Level of the Anti-PD-L1 Antibody

A total of twenty B-hPD-L1 mice (5-6 weeks) were subcutaneously injected with MC38-hPD-L1 cells (5×105/mouse). When the tumor reached a volume of 150±50 mm3, the mice were randomly placed into 4 groups, with 5 mice in each group. The treatment groups were treated with 1 mg/kg, 3 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg anti-PD-L1 antibody 07-6A11 respectively by intraperitoneal injection, and the control group was injected with physiological saline, and administered once every two days for 8 times of administrations in total. The body weight and tumor volume of the mice were measured twice a week until the end of the experiment after 3 weeks. As shown in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, the average body weight of the mice in the control group and the treatment groups increased steadily during the entire treatment period, and there was no significant difference between the groups, indicating that these anti-PD-L1 antibodies were not obviously toxic to the mice. As shown in FIG. 10 (tumor volume data, 18 days after grouping), compared with the control group, the tumor growth in the treatment groups were inhibited to different extents, and the larger the antibody dose, the better the tumor inhibition effect. Table 11 below showed the TGI % results for each group.









TABLE 11







Tumor growth inhibition rate













Average tumor




Grouping
Antibody
volume (mm3)
TGI %
P value





G1
Physiological saline
1200 ± 193




G2
07-6A11 (10 mg/kg)
111 ± 66
101.2%
0.001


G3
07-6A11 (3 mg/kg)
251 ± 87
88.2%
0.002


G4
07-6A11 (1 mg/kg)
 448 ± 253
69.9%
0.046










In Vivo Efficacy Test of Anti-PD-L1 Antibody in Combination with Additional Therapeutic Agents


A total of thirty-five B-hPD-L1 mice (5-6 weeks) were subcutaneously injected with MC38-hPD-L1 cells (5×105/mouse). When the tumor reached a volume of 150±50 mm3, the mice were randomly placed into 7 groups, with 5 mice in each group. The treatment groups were treated with the anti-PD-L1 murine antibody 07-6A11 (0.3 mg/kg), anti-CTLA4 antibody mCTLA4 (1 mg/kg), anti-OX40 antibody mOX40 (0.3 mg/kg) or combination thereof respectively by intraperitoneal injection, and the control group was injected with physiological saline. Among them, the anti-PD-L1 antibody was administered on day 1, 3, and 5 of each week, and the anti-CTLA4 antibody and anti-OX40 were administered on days 1 and 4 of each week. The body weight and tumor volume of the mice were measured twice a week until the end of the experiment after 3 weeks. As shown in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, the average body weight of the mice in the control group and the treatment group increased steadily during the entire treatment period, and there was no significant difference between the groups, indicating that the above three antibodies were not obviously toxic to the mice. As shown in FIG. 12A, FIG. 12B and FIG. 12C (tumor volume data, 21 days after grouping), compared with the control group, the tumor growth in the treatment groups were inhibited to different extents. Table 12 below showed the TGI % results for each group. The results showed that the anti-PD-L1 antibody in combination with anti-CTLA4 antibody, or anti-OX40 antibody can significantly inhibit tumor growth with superior efficacy. Among them, the mCTLA4 antibody was purchased from BioXcell with a catalog number of BE0164; and mOX40 antibody was purchased from BioXcell with a catalog number of BE0031.









TABLE 12







Tumor growth inhibition rate













Average tumor




Group
Antibody
volume (mm3)
TGI %
P value





G1
Physiological saline
2430 ± 422




G2
07-6A11 (0.3 mg/kg)
1307 ± 248
49.2%
0.051


G3
mCTLA-4 (1 mg/kg)
2234 ± 598
8.6%
0.796


G4
07-6A11 (0.3 mg/kg)
 840 ± 309
69.7%
0.016



mCTLA-4 (1 mg/kg)


G5
mOX40 (0.3 mg/kg)
1505 ± 492
40.6%
0.192


G6
07-6A11 (0.3 mg/kg)
 783 ± 194
72.3%
0.008



mOX40 (0.3 mg/kg)








Claims
  • 1. An anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, wherein the antibody comprises a heavy chain complementarity determining region (CDR H) comprising: CDR H1 comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 19, SEQ ID NO: 64, SEQ ID NO: 70, SEQ ID NO: 76 or SEQ ID NO: 82;CDR H2 comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 14, SEQ ID NO: 20, SEQ ID NO: 65, SEQ ID NO: 71, SEQ ID NO: 77 or SEQ ID NO: 83; andCDR H3 comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 9, SEQ ID NO: 15, SEQ ID NO: 21, SEQ ID NO: 66, SEQ ID NO: 72, SEQ ID NO: 78 or SEQ ID NO: 84.
  • 2. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 1, wherein the antibody comprises the CDR H comprising: a) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8 and SEQ ID NO: 9, respectively;b) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO: 15, respectively;c) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 19, SEQ ID NO: 20 and SEQ ID NO: 21, respectively;d) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 64, SEQ ID NO: 65 and SEQ ID NO: 66, respectively;e) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 70, SEQ ID NO: 71 and SEQ ID NO: 72, respectively;f) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 76, SEQ ID NO: 77 and SEQ ID NO: 78, respectively; org) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 82, SEQ ID NO: 83 and SEQ ID NO: 84, respectively.
  • 3. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 1 or 2, wherein the antibody further comprises a light chain complementarity determining regions (CDR L) comprising: CDR L1 comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 10, SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 22, SEQ ID NO: 67, SEQ ID NO: 73, SEQ ID NO: 79 or SEQ ID NO: 85;CDR L2 comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 11, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 23, SEQ ID NO: 68, SEQ ID NO: 74, SEQ ID NO: 80 or SEQ ID NO: 86; andCDR L3 comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 24, SEQ ID NO: 69, SEQ ID NO: 75, SEQ ID NO: 81 or SEQ ID NO: 87.
  • 4. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 3, wherein the antibody comprises the CDR L comprising: a) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 10, SEQ ID NO: 11 and SEQ ID NO: 12, respectively;b) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 17 and SEQ ID NO: 18, respectively;so c) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 22, SEQ ID NO: 23 and SEQ ID NO: 24, respectively;d) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 67, SEQ ID NO: 68 and SEQ ID NO: 69, respectively;e) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 73, SEQ ID NO: 74 and SEQ ID NO: 75, respectively;f) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 79, SEQ ID NO: 80 and SEQ ID NO: 81, respectively; org) CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 85, SEQ ID NO: 86 and SEQ ID NO: 87, respectively.
  • 5. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 4, wherein the antibody comprises a CDR H and CDR L comprising: a) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8 and SEQ ID NO: 9, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 10, SEQ ID NO: 11 and SEQ ID NO: 12, respectively;b) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO: 15, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 17 and SEQ ID NO: 18, respectively;c) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 19, SEQ ID NO: 20 and SEQ ID NO: 21, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 22, SEQ ID NO: 23 and SEQ ID NO: 24, respectively;d) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 64, SEQ ID NO: 65 and SEQ ID NO: 66, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 67, SEQ ID NO: 68 and SEQ ID NO: 69, respectively;e) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 70, SEQ ID NO: 71 and SEQ ID NO: 72, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 73, SEQ ID NO: 74 and SEQ ID NO: 75, respectively;f) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 76, SEQ ID NO: 77 and SEQ ID NO: 78, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 79, SEQ ID NO: 80 and SEQ ID NO: 81, respectively; org) CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 82, SEQ ID NO: 83 and SEQ ID NO: 84, respectively, and CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 comprising SEQ ID NO: 85, SEQ ID NO: 86 and SEQ ID NO: 87, respectively.
  • 6. An anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, wherein the antibody comprises a heavy chain variable region (VH) comprising: a) an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 56, SEQ ID NO: 58, SEQ ID NO: 60 or SEQ ID NO: 62;b) an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%, such as at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of a); orc) an amino acid sequence with one or more amino acid modifications in the amino acid sequence of a).
  • 7. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 6, wherein the antibody comprises a light chain variable region (VL) comprising: a) an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 57, SEQ ID NO: 59, SEQ ID NO: 61 or SEQ ID NO: 63;b) an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%, such as at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of a); orc) an amino acid sequence with one or more amino acid modifications in the amino acid sequence of a).
  • 8. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 7, wherein the antibody comprises the following VH and VL: a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 2, respectively;b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%, such as at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 2, respectively; orc) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 2, respectively.
  • 9. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 7, wherein the antibody comprises the following VH and VL: a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 3 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively;b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%, such as at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 3 and SEQ ID NO: 4, respectively; orc) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 3 and SEQ ID NO: 4, respectively.
  • 10. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 7, wherein the antibody comprises the following VH and VL: a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 5 and SEQ ID NO: 6, respectively;b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% , such as at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 5 and SEQ ID NO: 6; orc) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 5 and SEQ ID NO: 6, respectively.
  • 11. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 7, wherein the antibody comprises the following VH and VL: a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 56 and SEQ ID NO: 57, respectively;b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% identical, such as at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 56 and SEQ ID NO: 57; orc) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 56 and SEQ ID NO: 57, respectively.
  • 12. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 7, wherein the antibody comprises the following VH and VL: a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 58 and SEQ ID NO: 59, respectively;b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%, such as at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 58 and SEQ ID NO: 59; orc) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 58 and SEQ ID NO: 59, respectively.
  • 13. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 7, wherein the antibody comprises the following VH and VL: a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 60 and SEQ ID NO: 61, respectively;b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%, such as at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 60 and SEQ ID NO: 61; orc) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 60 and SEQ ID NO: 61, respectively.
  • 14. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 7, wherein the antibody comprises the following VH and VL: a) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 62 and SEQ ID NO: 63, respectively;b) VH and VL comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%, such as at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 62 and SEQ ID NO: 63; orc) VH and VL comprising the amino acid sequences with one or more amino acid modifications in SEQ ID NO: 62 and SEQ ID NO: 63, respectively.
  • 15. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1-14, wherein the antibody is a murine antibody, a chimeric antibody, a humanized antibody, or a fully human antibody.
  • 16. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 6-14, wherein the amino acid modification is located in a framework region of the variable region.
  • 17. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 6-14, wherein the modification is humanization.
  • 18. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 8, wherein the antibody comprises VH comprising the amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 39, SEQ ID NO: 40, SEQ ID NO: 41 or SEQ ID NO: 42, and VL comprising the amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 43, SEQ ID NO: 44 or SEQ ID NO: 45.
  • 19. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 9, wherein the antibody comprises VH comprising the amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 31, SEQ ID NO: 32, SEQ ID NO: 33 or SEQ ID NO: 34, and VL comprising the amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 35, SEQ ID NO: 36, SEQ ID NO: 37 or SEQ ID NO: 38.
  • 20. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 10, wherein the antibody comprises VH comprising the amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 46, SEQ ID NO: 47 or SEQ ID NO: 48, and VL comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 49, SEQ ID NO: 50 or SEQ ID NO: 51.
  • 21. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1-20, wherein the antibody comprises an Fc region amino acid modification which reduces the antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and/or complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) of the antibody.
  • 22. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 21, wherein the modification comprises an N297A mutation.
  • 23. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1-22, wherein the antibody is selected from an IgG, an IgA, an IgM, an IgE or an IgD isotype.
  • 24. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1-23, wherein the antibody is selected from an IgG1, an IgG2, an IgG3 or an IgG4 subtype.
  • 25. The anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1-24, wherein the antigen binding fragment is selected from a Fab fragment, a Fab′ fragment, a Fd fragment, a Fd′ fragment, a Fv fragment, a dAb Fragment, a F(ab′)2 fragment, a single chain fragment, a diabody or a linear antibody.
  • 26. A bispecific antibody comprising a first antigen binding region that binds to PD-L1, and a second antigen binding region that binds to a second antigen, wherein the first antigen binding region comprises the CDR H1, CDR H2 and CDR H3 and/or CDR L1, CDR L2 and CDR L3 of the anti-PD-L1 antibody of any one of claims 1-5, or the VH and/or VL of the anti-PD-L1 antibody of any one of claims 6-20.
  • 27. The bispecific antibody of claim 26, wherein the second antigen is selected from a tumor-associated antigen or an immune checkpoint molecule.
  • 28. A nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of the anti-PD-L1 antibody of any one of claims 1-25.
  • 29. A nucleotide sequence encoding a VH or VL of the anti-PD-L1 antibody of any one of claims 6-20.
  • 30. A vector comprising the nucleotide sequence of claim 28 or 29.
  • 31. A recombinant host cell comprising the nucleotide sequence of claim 28 or 29, or the vector of claim 30.
  • 32. A hybridoma cell producing the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1-25.
  • 33. A conjugate comprising the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1-25 or the bispecific antibody of claim 26 or 27, and a moiety conjugated thereto, wherein the moiety is selected from cytotoxins, radioisotopes, fluorescent labels, luminescent substances, chromogenic substances or enzymes.
  • 34. A composition comprising the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1-25, the bispecific antibody of claim 26 or 27, or the conjugate of claim 33, and optionally one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, excipients and/or diluents.
  • 35. A method of treating cancer in a subject comprising administering to the subject the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1-25, the bispecific antibody of claim 26 or 27, the conjugate of claim 33, or the composition of claim 34.
  • 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the cancer is selected from melanoma, lymphoma, bladder cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer, colon cancer or skin cancer.
  • 37. The method of claim 35 or 36, further comprising administering one or more additional therapeutic agents to the subject.
  • 38. The method of claim 37, wherein the therapeutic agent is selected from an antibody, a chemotherapeutic drug, or a small molecule compound.
  • 39. The method of claim 37 or 38, wherein the therapeutic agent targets an immune checkpoint molecule selected from PD-1, PD-L2, CTLA4, OX40, LAG3, TIM3, TIGIT, or CD103.
  • 40. Use of the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1-25, the bispecific antibody of claim 26 or 27, the conjugate of claim 33, or the composition of claim 34 in the treatment of cancer in a subject.
  • 41. Use of the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of any one of claims 1-25, the bispecific antibody of claim 26 or 27, the conjugate of claim 33, or the composition of claim 34 in the manufacture of a medicament for treating cancer in a subject.
  • 42. Use of claim 40 or 41, wherein the cancer is selected from melanoma, lymphoma, bladder cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer, colon cancer or skin cancer.
  • 43. Use of any one of claims 40-42, wherein the anti-PD-L1 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof, conjugate or composition is administered in combination with one or more additional therapeutic agents.
  • 44. Use of claim 43, wherein the therapeutic agent is selected from an antibody, a chemotherapeutic drug, or a small molecule compound.
  • 45. Use of claim 43 or 44, wherein the therapeutic agent targets an immune checkpoint molecule selected from PD-1, PD-L2, CTLA4, OX40, LAG3, TIM3, TIGIT, or CD103.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
PCT/CN2019/075654 Feb 2019 CN national
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a National Stage Application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 and claims the benefit of International Application No. PCT/CN2020/075983, filed Feb. 20, 2020, which claims the benefit of International Application No. PCT/CN2019/075654, filed on Feb. 21, 2019. The entire contents of the foregoing applications are incorporated herein by reference.

PCT Information
Filing Document Filing Date Country Kind
PCT/CN2020/075983 8/20/2020 WO 00