Patent Application
20230203162
The present invention relates to a multispecific antibody comprising two antibody-based binding domains, which specifically bind to mesothelin (MSLN-BD); and at least one antibody-based binding domain, which specifically binds to CD3 (CD3-BD); wherein said multispecific antibody does not comprise an immunoglobulin Fc region polypeptide, and wherein each of said MSLN-BD binds to mesothelin (MSLN) with a monovalent dissociation constant (KD) in the range of from 0.5 to 20 nM, when measured by SPR. The present invention further relates to nucleic acid sequence(s) encoding said multispecific antibody, vector(s) comprising said nucleic acid sequence(s), host cell(s) comprising said nucleic acid sequence(s) or said vector(s), and a method of producing said multispecific antibody. Additionally, the present invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising said multispecific antibody and methods of use thereof.
Cancer continues to pose a major unmet medical need, despite the considerable progress made in its treatment. Some of the most substantial progress made in cancer treatment in recent years has come with the advent of immunotherapies of various molecular classes, including, but not limited to: monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), bispecific antibodies (bsAbs), recombinant proteins, and chimeric antigen receptor-T cell (CAR-T cell) therapies. Such therapies induce anti-tumor immunity by: a) actively directing immune-effector cells to tumor-resident cells and/or b) stimulating immune-effector cells and/or c) relieving tumor-mediated immune-suppression. These immunotherapies commonly exploit the overexpression of specific antigens by tumor-resident cells (e.g., malignant cells, cells of the tumor vasculature, stromal cells, immune cells, etc.)—as compared to extratumoral loci—to target their pharmacological activity to tumors. Among these antigens, tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) comprise cell-surface proteins selectively overexpressed restrict their immunomodulatory activity to immunological synapses between tumor cells and immune effector cells to a degree.
A common class of TAA-binding immunotherapeutics are mAbs that elicit anti-tumor immunity by opsonizing tumor-cells and triggering antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) by Fcγ receptor (FcγR)-expressing cells, primarily natural killer (NK) cells. Other TAA-binding immunotherapeutics leverage cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) to induce targeted depletion of malignant cells, such as CAR-T cells as well as bsAbs that simultaneously engage the T cell antigen CD3 (TAA/CD3 bsAbs).
While the therapeutic utility of TAA-(re)directed CTLs and conventional TAA/CD3 bsAbs have been clinically validated, dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) often preclude administration at maximally effective doses (MEDs) or lead to discontinuation of treatment, resulting in limited efficacy.
One reason for the DLTs is that conventional TAA/CD3 bsAbs are also commonly associated with cytokine release syndrome (CRS), putatively due to excessive activity of anti-CD3 domains. Extratumoral activity of immunotherapies results in the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines in healthy tissues, which can result in undesirable safety profiles. Furthermore, while TAA/CD3 bsAbs potently deplete TAA-overexpressing cells, they do so by recruiting and stimulating CTLs regardless of whether such cells express a T cell receptor (TCR) that recognizes a tumor-antigen(s) (i.e., tumor-reactive T cell). Therefore, rather than stimulating or reactivating the host's native anti-tumor immunity, TAA/CD3 bsAbs somewhat indiscriminately stimulate CTLs, potentially posing safety risks.
Although the exact pathways by which such DLTs arise can vary, the risk of immunotherapy-related toxicities can typically be minimized or eliminated by enhancing the tumor-localization of pharmacological activity.
TAAs that are almost exclusively expressed on cancer cells, such as oncofetal tumor antigens, are referred to as clean TAAs. TAA that are also expressed on normal, non-cancer cells—typically at lower levels compared to cancer cells—are considered non-clean TAAs. Due to the very high potency of TAA/CD3 bsAbs approaches, non-clean TAAs are a challenge as they damage non-tumor cells that also express the TAA. Mesothelin (MSLN) is an example of a non-clean TAA; it lower level. Therefore, when targeting non-clean TAAs, novel therapies that improve the selectivity of TAA/CD3 bsAb approaches for tumor tissues and minimize off tumor/on target effects are needed. This particularly applies to MSLN/CD3 bsAb approaches.
Mesothelin (MSLN) has been proposed as a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) that can be targeted to treat MSLN+ solid cancers such as mesothelioma. Many other types of cancers are also MSLN+, including certain forms of ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer, as well as triple negative breast cancer. The current standard of care for mesothelioma includes tumor resection, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, as well as palliative measures such as fluid reduction and pain management. Immunotherapies for tumors that continue growing include the use of PD-1/PD-L1 blockers such as pembrolizumab and nivolumab, or anti-CTLA4 antibodies such as ipilimumab to stimulate the immune system, as well as VEGF inhibitors such as bevacizumab to block blood vessel angiogenesis. While these therapies have achieved clinical success, they come with a higher risk of systemic side effects. Therefore, a need exists for a MSLN-targeted, specific approach.
A number of preclinical and early stage clinical studies have been performed or are underway to assess the feasibility of targeting MSLN via a few different approaches, which include antibody-based drugs and CAR-T cells. Antibody-based drugs include targeting MSLN-expressing cells with: the anti-MSLN fragment SS1P immunotoxin together with chemotherapeutics such as pemetrexed and cisplatin or coupled with PE38; amatuximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody to induce ADCC; antibody drug conjugates such as anetumab ravtansine (BAY 94-9343: anti-MSLN+tubulin inhibitor DM4) or DMOT4039A (anti-MSLN+anti-mitotic monomethyl auristatin E) to inhibit tumor growth. HPN536, a multispecific engager (anti-MSLN+anti-CD3+anti-albumin) with an improved half-life appears to redirect T cells to kill MSLN-expressing targets in vitro and in vivo and seems to be well tolerated by cynomolgous monkeys. Several anti-MSLN chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T therapies have also been well tolerated, including transient mRNA-transfected CAR-T (RNA CARTmeso) and CAR-T that have been engineered with a suicide gene (iCasp9m28z). Responses to most anti-MSLN therapies thus far have been modest, indicating the challenges associated with treating solid tumors. MSLN is shed into the serum of cancer patients, where it is referred to as soluble mesothelin-related protein (SMRP). Antibodies with a high affinity to MSLN also strongly bind to SMRP, which significantly counteracts their activity reducing the effective dose on cancer cells.
Therefore, there is a need for novel molecules that are able to effectively localize to tumors and promote T cell responses in the presence of SMRP.
Multispecific antibodies having at least three binding domains, of which two specifically bind to mesothelin (MSLN-BD) and one specifically binds to CD3 (CD3-BD), wherein the binding affinity of the two MSLN-BD is in a well-balanced range, could theoretically address many of the foregoing limitations with respect to safety and efficacy. Such multispecific antibodies are theoretically capable of eliciting a high tumor localization and improved selectivity, which could provide safer and more effective therapies for a variety of cancers. Additionally, such molecules would further limit the need for co-administration of additional immunotherapies to boost patient responses, supporting ease-of-development and minimizing treatment costs. However, implementation of multispecific antibodies for therapeutic use has been complicated due to issues with their molecular architecture, the properties of their component antigen-binding domains, their producability and/or poor biophysical properties. In summary, there remains a clear need for novel multi-specific antibodies that exhibit increased tumor cell localization and elicit effective T cell activation with a tolerable toxicological profile and that have biophysical properties rendering them suitable for pharmaceutical development.
In addition, despite the fact that numerous antibodies already exist that are specific for MSLN and/or CD3, the complex and specific requirements of such multispecific antibodies require the development of novel antibody domains with tailor-made properties.
Thus, in spite of numerous treatment options for patients suffering from cancer, there remains a need for effective and safe therapeutic agents and a need for their preferential use in a more targeted manner. Immune-modulating biologics offer promising approaches in treatment of cancers due to their modes of action, however global immunostimulation and lack of any restriction of this immunomodulation to pathologically relevant cells and sites cause numerous side and mortality of patients. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a medicament to improve treatment of a proliferative disease, particularly a cancer.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a medicament to improve treatment of a proliferative disease, particularly a cancer. In particular, it was an object of the present invention to provide a medicament having increased on target efficacy thereby improving the toxicological profile.
In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a multispecific antibody comprising:
In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a specific MSLN-binding domain.
In a third aspect, the present invention relates to a nucleic acid sequence or two nucleic acid sequences encoding the multispecific antibody or the specific MSLN-binding domain of the present invention.
In a fourth aspect, the present invention relates to a vector or two vectors comprising the nucleic acid sequence or the two nucleic acid sequences of the present invention.
In a fifth aspect, the present invention relates to a host cell or host cells comprising the vector or the two vectors of the present invention.
In a sixth aspect, the present invention relates to a method for producing the multispecific antibody or a specific binding domain of the present invention, of the present invention, or the vector or the two vectors of the present invention, expressing said nucleic acid sequence or nucleic acid sequences, or said vector or vectors, and collecting said multispecific antibody or said specific binding domain from the expression system, or (ii) providing a host cell or host cells of the present invention, culturing said host cell or said host cells; and collecting said multispecific antibody or said specific binding domain, from the cell culture.
In a seventh aspect, the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising the multispecific antibody of the present invention and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
In an eighth aspect, the present invention relates to a multispecific antibody of the present invention for use in the treatment of a disease, particularly a human disease, more particularly a human disease selected from cancer, an inflammatory and an autoimmune disease, wherein said multispecific antibody is a single-chain protein comprising three or four binding domains.
In a ninth aspect, the present invention relates to a multispecific antibody of the present invention for use in the treatment of a disease, particularly a human disease, more particularly a human disease selected from cancer, an inflammatory and an autoimmune disease, wherein said multispecific antibody is a hetero-dimeric protein comprising three or four binding domains.
In a tenth aspect, the present invention relates to a method for the treatment of a disease, particularly a human disease, more particularly a human disease selected from cancer, an inflammatory and an autoimmune disease, comprising the step of administering the above defined single-chain multispecific antibody of the present invention, said single-chain multispecific antibody comprising three or four binding domains.
In an eleventh aspect, the present invention relates to a method for the treatment of a disease, particularly a human disease, more particularly a human disease selected from cancer, an inflammatory and an autoimmune disease, comprising the step of administering the above defined hetero-dimeric multispecific antibody of the present invention, said hetero-dimeric multispecific antibody comprising three or four binding domains.
present invention summarized in the following items, respectively alone or in combination, further contribute to solving the object of the invention:
Known MSLN/CD3 bsAbs-based immunotherapies typically suffer from dose-limiting toxicities and limited in vivo efficacy. There is thus a need in the medical field for novel MSLN/CD3 bsAbs-based immunotherapies, which have lower or no dose-limiting toxicities and higher efficacy than the currently available approaches.
The present invention provides a multispecific antibody comprising a combination of two mesothelin binding domains (MSLN-BD) and at least one binding domain for CD3 (CD3-BD), wherein the binding affinity of the MSLN-BD to MSLN is tuned such that it allows efficient localization on high MSLN expressing target cells the presence of two MSLN-BD, which are embedded in well-defined and compact multi-domain antibody architecture that is devoid of immunoglobulin Fc region polypeptides, in combination with well balanced MSLN and CD3 binding affinities, these multispecific antibodies show high on-target potency while exhibiting low off-tumor side effects. The compact bivalent design of multispecific antibodies of the present invention, which cannot be achieved for bivalent multispecific antibodies that are based on classical IgG-architecture, as well as their well tuned MSLN and CD3 binding affinities are crucial features for achieving the desired selectivity and efficacy profile.
The multispecific antibodies of the present invention are capable of binding to target cells via the two MSLN-BD in a highly antigen-density dependent manner by taking advantage of avidity effects. Simultaneously, the multispecific antibodies of the present invention are capable of inducing T-cell activation and tumor cell killing by binding to CD3 via the CD3-BD. Due to their enhanced selectivity for high MSLN expressing cells that leads to efficient tumor localization, the multispecific antibodies of the present invention enable treatments without dose-limiting toxicities caused by non-specific activation of T cells.
In addition, it has surprisingly been found that the potency of killing high MSLN expressing target cells is not significantly reduced in the presence of high levels of soluble mesothelin that is often observed in patient sera. Furthermore, the multispecific antibodies of the present invention comprising (a) two MSLN binding domains, and (b) at least one CD3-BD and having the above defined design and antigen-binding affinities demonstrated further beneficial properties as shown in the Examples and accompanying figures. Furthermore, the optional addition of a half-life-extending anti-hSA domain not only enables convenient dosing, but should also promote delivery of the molecule to tumor microenvironments.
The multispecific antibodies of the present invention thus provide distinct therapeutic advantages over conventional compositions and therapies.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains.
and non-limiting sense unless otherwise noted. With respect to such latter embodiments, the term “comprising” thus includes the narrower term “consisting of”.
The terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar references in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. For example, the term “a cell” includes a plurality of cells, including mixtures thereof. Where the plural form is used for compounds, salts, and the like, this is taken to mean also a single compound, salt, or the like.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to a multispecific antibody comprising:
The term “antibody” and the like, as used herein, includes whole antibodies or single chains thereof; and any antigen-binding fragment (i.e., “antigen-binding portion”) or single chains thereof; and molecules comprising antibody CDRs, VH regions or VL regions (including without limitation multispecific antibodies). A naturally occurring “whole antibody” is a glycoprotein comprising at least two heavy (H) chains and two light (L) chains inter-connected by disulfide bonds. Each heavy chain is comprised of a heavy chain variable region (abbreviated herein as VH) and a heavy chain constant region. The heavy chain constant region is comprised of three domains, CH1, CH2 and CH3. Each light chain is comprised of a light chain variable region (abbreviated herein as VL) and a light chain constant region. The light chain constant region is comprised of one domain, CL. The VH and VL regions can be further subdivided into regions of hypervariability, termed complementarity determining regions (CDRs), interspersed with regions that are more conserved, termed framework regions (FRs). Each VH and VL is composed of three CDRs and FR1, CDR1, FR2, CDR2, FR3, CDR3, FR4. The variable regions of the heavy and light chains contain a binding domain that interacts with an antigen. The constant regions of the antibodies may mediate the binding of the immunoglobulin to host tissues or factors, including various cells of the immune system (e.g., effector cells) and the first component (Clq) of the classical complement system.
The term “immunoglobulin Fc region”, as used herein, refers to the CH2 and CH3 domains of the heavy chain constant regions.
The terms “binding domain”, “antigen-binding fragment thereof”, “antigen-binding portion” of an antibody, and the like, as used herein, refer to one or more fragments of an intact antibody that retain the ability to specifically bind to a given antigen (e.g., MSLN, CD3, hSA). Antigen-binding functions of an antibody can be performed by fragments of an intact antibody. In some embodiments, a binding domain of a multispecific antibody of the present invention is selected from the group consisting of a Fab fragment, a monovalent fragment consisting of the VL, VH, CL and CH1 domains; a F(ab)2 fragment, a bivalent fragment comprising two Fab fragments linked by a disulfide bridge at the hinge region; an Fd fragment consisting of the VH and CH1 domains; an Fv fragment consisting of the VL and VH domains of a single arm of an antibody; a single domain antibody (dAb) fragment (Ward et al., 1989 Nature 341:544-546), which consists of a VH domain; an isolated complementarity determining region (CDR), a single-chain Fv, a dsFv, a scAb, STAB, a single domain antibody (sdAb or dAb), a single domain heavy chain antibody, and a single domain light chain antibody, a VHH, a VNAR, single domain antibodies based on the VNAR structure from shark, and binding domains based on alternative scaffolds including but limited to ankyrin-based domains, fynomers, avimers, anticalins, fibronectins, and binding sites being built into constant regions of antibodies (e.g. f-star technology (F-star's Modular Antibody Technology™)). Suitably, a binding domain of the present invention is a single-chain Fv fragment (scFv) or a single antibody variable domain. In a preferred embodiment, a binding domain of the present invention is a single-chain Fv fragment (scFv). In particular embodiments, the two variable domains of an antigen-binding fragment, as in an Fv or an scFv fragment, are stabilized by an interdomain disulfide bond, in particular wherein said VH domain comprises a single cysteine residue in position 51 (AHo (AHo numbering).
The term “Complementarity Determining Regions” (“CDRs”) refers to amino acid sequences with boundaries determined using any of a number of well-known schemes, including those described by Kabat et al. (1991), “Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest,” 5th Ed. Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. (“Kabat” numbering scheme); Al-Lazikani et al., (1997) JMB 273, 927-948 (“Chothia” numbering scheme); ImMunoGenTics (IMGT) numbering (Lefranc, M.-P., The Immunologist, 7, 132-136 (1999); Lefranc, M.-P. et al., Dev. Comp. Immunol., 27, 55-77 (2003)) (“IMGT” numbering scheme); and the numbering scheme described in Honegger & Plückthun, J. Mol. Biol. 309 (2001) 657-670 (“AHo” numbering). For example, for classic formats, under Kabat, the CDR amino acid residues in the heavy chain variable domain (VH) are numbered 31-35 (HCDR1), 50-65 (HCDR2), and 95-102 (HCDR3); and the CDR amino acid residues in the light chain variable domain (VL) are numbered 24-34 (LCDR1), 50-56 (LCDR2), and 89-97 (LCDR3). Under Chothia the CDR amino acids in the VH are numbered 26-32 (HCDR1), 52-56 (HCDR2), and 95-102 (HCDR3); and the amino acid residues in VL are numbered 24-34 (LCDR1), 50-56 (LCDR2), and 89-97 (LCDR3). By combining the CDR definitions of both Kabat and Chothia, the CDRs consist of amino acid residues 26-35 (HCDR1), 50-65 (HCDR2), and 95-102 (HCDR3) in human VH and amino acid residues 24-34 (LCDR1), 50-56 (LCDR2), and 89-97 (LCDR3) in human VL. Under IMGT the CDR amino acid residues in the VH are numbered approximately 26-35 (HCDR1), 51-57 (HCDR2) and 93-102 (HCDR3), and the CDR amino acid residues in the VL are numbered approximately 27-32 (LCDR1), 50-52 (LCDR2), and 89-97 (LCDR3) (numbering according to “Kabat”). Under IMGT, the CDRs of an antibody can be determined using the program IMGT/DomainGap Align.
In the context of the present invention, the numbering system suggested by Honegger & Plückthun (“AHo”) is used (Honegger & Plückthun, J. Mol. Biol. 309 (2001) 657-670), unless specifically mentioned otherwise. In particular, the following residues are defined as CDRs according to AHo numbering scheme: LCDR1 (also referred to as CDR-L1): L24-L42; LCDR2 (also referred to as CDR-L2): L58-L72; LCDR3 (also referred to as CDR-L3): L107-L138; HCDR1 (also referred to as CDR-H1): H27-H42; HCDR2 (also referred to as CDR-H2): H57-H76; HCDR3 (also according to Honegger & Plückthun takes the length diversity into account that is found in naturally occurring antibodies, both in the different VH and VL subfamilies and, in particular, in the CDRs, and provides for gaps in the sequences. Thus, in a given antibody variable domain usually not all positions 1 to 149 will be occupied by an amino acid residue.
The term “binding specificity” as used herein refers to the ability of an individual antibody to react with one antigenic determinant and not with a different antigenic determinant. As use herein, the term “specifically binds to” or is “specific for” refers to measurable and reproducible interactions such as binding between a target and an antibody, which is determinative of the presence of the target in the presence of a heterogeneous population of molecules including biological molecules. For example, an antibody that specifically binds to a target (which can be an epitope) is an antibody that binds this target with greater affinity, avidity, more readily, and/or with greater duration than it binds to other targets. In its most general form (and when no defined reference is mentioned), “specific binding” is referring to the ability of the antibody to discriminate between the target of interest and an unrelated molecule, as determined, for example, in accordance with a specificity assay known in the art. Such assays comprise, but are not limited to Western blots, ELISA, RIA, ECL, IRMA, SPR (Surface plasmon resonance) tests and peptide scans. For example, a standard ELISA assay can be carried out. The scoring may be carried out by standard colour development (e.g. secondary antibody with horseradish peroxide and tetramethyl benzidine with hydrogen peroxide). The reaction in certain wells is scored by the optical density, for example, at 450 nm. Typical background (=negative reaction) may be about 0.1 OD; typical positive reaction may be about 1 OD. This means the ratio between a positive and a negative score can be 10-fold or higher. In a further example, an SPR assay can be carried out, wherein at least 10-fold, particularly at least 100-fold difference between a background and signal indicates specific binding. Typically, determination of binding specificity is performed by using not a single reference molecule, but a set of about three to five unrelated molecules, such as milk powder, transferrin or the like.
Suitably, the antibody of the invention is an isolated antibody. The term “isolated antibody”, as used herein, refers to an antibody that is substantially free of that specifically binds MSLN and CD3 is substantially free of antibodies that specifically bind antigens other than MSLN and CD3 and an isolated antibody that specifically binds MSLN, CD3 and human serum albumin is substantially free of antibodies that specifically bind antigens other than MSLN, CD3 and human serum albumin). Moreover, an isolated antibody may be substantially free of other cellular material and/or chemicals.
Suitably, the antibody of the invention is a monoclonal antibody. The term “monoclonal antibody” or “monoclonal antibody composition” as used herein refers to antibodies that are substantially identical to amino acid sequence or are derived from the same genetic source. A monoclonal antibody composition displays a binding specificity and affinity for a particular epitope, or binding specificities and affinities for specific epitopes.
Antibodies of the invention include, but are not limited to, chimeric, human and humanized antibodies.
The term “chimeric antibody” (or antigen-binding fragment thereof) is an antibody molecule (or antigen-binding fragment thereof) in which (a) the constant region, or a portion thereof, is altered, replaced or exchanged so that the antigen-binding site (variable region) is linked to a constant region of a different or altered class, effector function and/or species, or an entirely different molecule which confers new properties to the chimeric antibody, e.g., an enzyme, toxin, hormone, growth factor, drug, etc.; or (b) the variable region, or a portion thereof, is altered, replaced or exchanged with a variable region having a different or altered antigen specificity. For example, a mouse antibody can be modified by replacing its constant region with the constant region from a human immunoglobulin. Due to the replacement with a human constant region, the chimeric antibody can retain its specificity in recognizing the antigen while having reduced antigenicity in human as compared to the original mouse antibody.
The term “human antibody” (or antigen-binding fragment thereof), as used herein, is intended to include antibodies (and antigen-binding fragments thereof) having variable regions in which both the framework and CDR regions are derived from sequences of human origin. Furthermore, if the antibody contains a constant region, the constant region also is derived from such human sequences, e.g., human antibodies and antigen-binding fragments thereof of the invention may include amino acid residues not encoded by human sequences (e.g., mutations introduced by random or site-specific mutagenesis in vitro or by somatic mutation in vivo). This definition of a human antibody specifically excludes a humanized antibody comprising non-human antigen-binding residues. Human antibodies can be produced using various techniques known in the art, including phage-display libraries (Hoogenboom and Winter, J. Mol. Biol, 227:381 (1991); Marks et al, J. Mol. Biol, 222:581 (1991)). Also available for the preparation of human monoclonal antibodies are methods described in Cole et al, Monoclonal Antibodies and Cancer Therapy, Alan R. Liss, p. 77 (1985); Boemer et al, J. Immunol, 147(I):86-95 (1991). See also van Dijk and van de Winkel, Curr. Opin. Pharmacol, 5: 368-74 (2001). Human antibodies can be prepared by administering the antigen to a transgenic animal that has been modified to produce such antibodies in response to antigenic challenge, but whose endogenous loci have been disabled, e.g., immunized xenom ice (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,075,181 and 6,150,584 regarding XENOMOUSE™ technology). See also, for example, Li et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 103:3557-3562 (2006) regarding human antibodies generated via a human B-cell hybridoma technology.
A “humanized” antibody (or antigen-binding fragment thereof), as used herein, is an antibody (or antigen-binding fragment thereof) that retains the reactivity of a non-human antibody while being less immunogenic in humans. This can be achieved, for instance, by retaining the non-human CDR regions and replacing the remaining parts of the antibody with their human counterparts (i.e., the constant region as well as the framework portions of the variable region). Additional framework region modifications may be made within the human framework sequences as well as within the CDR sequences derived from the germline of another mammalian species. The humanized antibodies of the invention may include amino acid residues not encoded by human sequences (e.g., mutations introduced by random or site-specific mutagenesis in vitro or by somatic mutation in vivo, or a conservative substitution to promote stability or manufacturing). See, e.g., Morrison et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 81:6851-6855, 1984; Morrison and Oi, Adv. Immunol., 44:65-92, 1988; Verhoeyen et al., Science, 239: 1534-1536, 1988; Padlan, Molec. Immun., 28:489-498, 1991; and Padlan, Molec. Immun., 31: 169-217, to the Xoma technology disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,886.
The term “recombinant humanized antibody” as used herein, includes all human antibodies that are prepared, expressed, created or isolated by recombinant means, such as antibodies isolated from a host cell transformed to express the humanized antibody, e.g., from a transfectoma, and antibodies prepared, expressed, created or isolated by any other means that involve splicing of all or a portion of a human immunoglobulin gene, sequences to other DNA sequences.
Suitably, the antibody of the invention or antigen-binding fragment thereof is humanized. Suitably, the antibody of the invention or antigen-binding fragment thereof is humanized and comprises rabbit-derived CDRs.
The term “multispecific antibody” as used herein, refers to an antibody that binds to two or more different epitopes on at least two or more different targets (e.g., MSLN and CD3). The term “multispecific antibody” includes bispecific, trispecific, tetraspecific, pentaspecific and hexaspecific. The term “bispecific antibody” as used herein, refers to an antibody that binds to two different epitopes on two different targets (e.g., MSLN and CD3). The term “trispecific antibody” as used herein, refers to an antibody that binds to three different epitopes on three different targets (e.g., MSLN, CD3 and hSA).
The term “epitope” means a protein determinant capable of specific binding to an antibody. Epitopes usually consist of chemically active surface groupings of molecules such as amino acids or sugar side chains and usually have specific three-dimensional structural characteristics, as well as specific charge characteristics. “Conformational” and “linear” epitopes are distinguished in that the binding to the former but not the latter is lost in the presence of denaturing solvents.
The term “conformational epitope” as used herein refers to amino acid residues of an antigen that come together on the surface when the polypeptide chain folds to form the native protein.
The term “linear epitope” refers to an epitope with all of the points of interaction between the protein and the interacting molecule (such as an antibody) occurring linearly along the primary amino acid sequence of the protein (continuous).
The term “recognize” as used herein refers to an antibody antigen-binding fragment thereof that finds and interacts (e.g., binds) with its conformational epitope. between antibody and antigen at single antigenic sites. Within each antigenic site, the variable region of the antibody “arm” interacts through weak non-covalent forces with antigen at numerous sites; the more interactions, the stronger the affinity.
“Binding affinity” generally refers to the strength of the total sum of non-covalent interactions between a single binding site of a molecule (e.g., of an antibody) and its binding partner (e.g., an antigen). Unless indicated otherwise, as used herein, “binding affinity”, “bind to”, “binds to” or “binding to” refers to intrinsic binding affinity that reflects a 1:1 interaction between members of a binding pair (e.g., an antibody fragment and antigen). The affinity of a molecule X for its partner Y can generally be represented by the dissociation constant (KD). Affinity can be measured by common methods known in the art, including those described herein. Low-affinity antibodies generally bind antigen slowly and tend to dissociate readily, whereas high-affinity antibodies generally bind antigen faster and tend to remain bound longer. A variety of methods of measuring binding affinity are known in the art, any of which can be used for purposes of the present invention. Specific illustrative and exemplary embodiments for measuring binding affinity, i.e. binding strength are described in the following.
The term “Kassoc”, “Ka” or “Kon”, as used herein, is intended to refer to the association rate of a particular antibody-antigen interaction, whereas the term “Kdis”, “Kd” or “Koff”, as used herein, is intended to refer to the dissociation rate of a particular antibody-antigen interaction. In one embodiment, the term “KD”, as used herein, is intended to refer to the dissociation constant, which is obtained from the ratio of Kd to Ka (i.e. Kd/Ka) and is expressed as a molar concentration (M). The “KD” or “KD value” or “KD” or “KD value” according to this invention is in one embodiment measured by using surface-plasmon resonance assays. Affinity to recombinant human mesothelin (human MSLN) and recombinant Cynomolgus MSLN (Cynomolgus MSLN) was determined by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) measurements as described in section [0168]. Affinity to recombinant human CD3 was measured by SPR as described in section [0196].
Suitably, the multispecific antibody of the present invention is bivalent for MSLN specificity.
bivalentor multivalent for CD3 specificity. In one embodiment, the multispecific antibody of the present invention is bivalent for CD3 specificity. In a preferred embodiment, the multispecific antibody of the present invention is monovalent for CD3 specificity.
The term “multivalent antibody” refers to a single binding molecule with more than one valency, where “valency” is described as the number of antigen-binding moieties that binds to epitopes on identical target molecules. As such, the single binding molecule can bind to more than one binding site on a target molecule. Examples of multivalent antibodies include, but are not limited to bivalent antibodies, trivalent antibodies, tetravalent antibodies, pentavalent antibodies, and the like.
The term “monovalent antibody”, as used herein, refers to an antibody that binds to a single epitope on a target molecule, such as CD3. Also, the term “binding domain” or “monovalent binding domain”, as used herein, refers to a binding domain that binds to a single epitope on a target molecule such as CD3.
The term “bivalent antibody” as used herein, refers to an antibody that binds to two epitopes on two identical target molecules, such as MSLN target molecules.
The two MSLN-BDs of the multispecific antibodies of the present invention bind to any region of the extracellular part of MSLN, e.g. to Region I, Region II and/or Region III of MSLN. Preferably, the two MSLN-BDs of the multispecific antibodies of the present invention bind to Region I and/or Region II of MSLN, in particular to Region I of MSLN. Region I is the part of MSLN that is most distal from the cell surface, where MSLN is attached to.
The two MSLN-BDs of the multispecific antibodies of the present invention either bind the same or different epitopes on the MSLN target molecules. Preferably, the two MSLN-BDs of the multispecific antibodies of the present invention bind the same epitopes on the MSLN target molecules. The term “same epitope”, as used herein, refers to individual protein determinants on the same protein capable of specific binding to an antibody, where these individual protein determinants are identical, i.e. consist of identical chemically active surface groupings of molecules such as amino acids or sugar side chains having identical three-dimensional structural characteristics, as well as identical charge characteristics. The term “different epitope”, as used herein in connection with a specific protein target, refers an antibody, where these individual protein determinants are not identical, i.e. consist of non-identical chemically active surface groupings of molecules such as amino acids or sugar side chains having different three-dimensional structural characteristics, as well as different charge characteristics. These different epitopes can be overlapping or non-overlapping.
The inventors of the present invention have now surprisingly found that for example the tri-specific molecules (biMSLNhigh KD×CD3×hSA) PRO2000, PRO2562, PRO2565, PRO2566 and PRO2567 are capable of killing target cells, which have an approximately 7-fold higher MSLN expression level than healthy MeT-5A cells (ATCC CRL-9444), as determined by flow cytometry, with high efficiency and with an EC50 that is at least 25-fold lower than the EC50 for killing said MeT-5A cells, as determined in a T-cell driven cytotoxicity assay against said target cells and said MeT-5A cells (see for example Table 31). Thus, although PRO2000, PRO2562, PRO2566 and PRO2567 exhibit a very high killing potency for high MSLN expressing target cells, their killing potency towards healthy cells is much lower, indicating a potentially large therapeutic window for treatments using PRO2000, PRO2562, PRO2566 and PRO2567. In contrast thereto, the potencies of a tri-specific reference molecule PRO1872 (MSLNlowKD×CD3×hSA), which comprises one MSLN-BD having a more than 5-fold better binding affinity (KD) than the MSLN-BDs of PRO2000, PRO2562, PRO2566 and PRO2567, for killing said high MSLN expressing target cells and said healthy Met-5A cells do not differ significantly. This finding indicates that the therapeutic window for the use of the multispecific antibodies of the present invention in the treatment of cancer patients is significantly increased. In addition, the inventors of the present invention have surprisingly found that the EC50 values of the tri-specific molecules PRO2000, PRO2562, PRO2566 and PRO2567 (biMSLNhigh KD×CD3×hSA) for killing target cells, which have an approximately 7-fold higher MSLN expression level than said healthy MeT-5A cells, as determined by flow cytometry, do not increase by more than 6-fold in the presence of 50 ng/ml soluble mesothelin (sMSLN), and by not more than 40-fold in the presence of 500 ng/ml soluble mesothelin (sMSLN), as determined in a T-cell driven cytotoxicity assay against said target cells. On the other hand, the EC50 value of the tri-specific reference molecule PRO1872 (MSLNlow KD×CD3×hSA) for killing by more than 75-fold in the presence of 500 ng/ml sMSLN. Thus, the high killing potency of the tri-specific molecules PRO2000, PRO2562, PRO2566 and PRO2567 for high MSLN expressing target cells is only marginally affected by high concentrations of sMSLN. On the other hand, the killing potency of the tri-specific molecules PRO2000, PRO2562, PRO2566 and PRO2567 for healthy cells is further decreased in the presence of high concentration of sMSLN (data not shown), indicating that the therapeutic window for their use in the clinic is even increased by the presence of sMSLN. This is an important finding, since high plasma-levels of soluble mesothelin-related protein (SMRP) are often observed in patients. The inventors obtained similar advantageous results for the CD8+ T cell activation potency of PRO2000. The above findings are even more surprising as it could not a priori be expected that all four binding domains remain functional without sterically or otherwise inhibiting each other in a complex multi-target, multi-cell situation.
Suitable MSLN-BDs for use in the multispecific antibody of the invention are binding domains provided in the present disclosure. The mesothelin-BDs of the invention include, but are not limited to, the humanized MSLN-binding domains whose sequences are listed in Table 1.
Suitable CD3-BDs for use in the multispecific antibody of the invention are binding domains provided in the present disclosure. The CD3-BDs of the invention include, but are not limited to, the humanized CD3-binding domains whose sequences are listed in Table 3.
Suitably, the multispecific antibody of the invention has two different specificities (MSLN and CD3). Suitably, the multispecific antibody of the invention is a bispecific antibody, which is bivalent for MSLN. The multispecific antibody of the present invention may comprise a further specificity (trispecific antibody) or specificities (tetraspecific or pentaspecific or hexaspecific antibody). In one embodiment, the multispecific antibody is bispecific (MSLN and CD3). In another embodiment, the multispecific antibody is trispecific (MSLN, CD3 and hSA).
Suitably, the antibody of the invention does not comprise an immunoglobulin Fc region polypeptide.
In order to increase the number of specificities/functionalities at the same or lower molecular weight, it is advantageous to use antibodies comprising antibody fragments. These smaller molecules retain the antigen-binding activity of the whole antibody and can also exhibit improved tissue penetration and pharmacokinetic properties in comparison to the whole immunoglobulin molecules. Whilst such fragments appear to exhibit a number of advantages over whole immunoglobulins, they also suffer from an increased rate of clearance from serum since they lack the Fc domain that imparts a long half-life in vivo (Medasan et al., 1997, J. Immunol. 158:2211-2217). Molecules with lower molecular weights penetrate more efficiently into target tissues (e.g. solid cancers) and thus hold the promise for improved efficacy at the same or lower dose.
The inventors have surprisingly found that an addition of human serum albumin binding domain (hSA-BD) to the multispecific antibody of the invention does not interfere with the ability of the other binding domains to bind to their respective targets. This finding is insofar surprising as it cannot a priori be expected that all four binding domains remain functional without sterically or otherwise inhibiting each other in a complex multi-target, multi-cell in vivo situation.
Suitably, the multispecific antibody of the present invention may comprise a further binding domain having specificity to human serum albumin. In one embodiment, the multispecific antibody comprises: (i) two MSLN-BD; (ii) at least one CD3-BD; and (iii) at least one hSA-BD.
The term “hSA” refers in particular to human serum albumin with UniProt ID number P02768. Human Serum Albumin (hSA) is 66.4 kDa abundant protein in human serum (50% of total protein) composed of 585 amino acids (Sugio, Protein Eng, Vol. 12, 1999, 439-446). Multifunctional hSA protein is associated with its structure that allowed binding and transporting a number of metabolites such as fatty acids, metal ions, bilirubin and some drugs (Fanali, Molecular Aspects of Medicine, Vol. 33, 2012, 209-290). HSA concentration in serum is around 3.5-5 g/dL. Albumin binding antibodies and fragments thereof may be used, for example, for extending the in vivo serum half-life of drugs or proteins conjugated thereto.
In some embodiments, the hSA-BD is derived from a monoclonal antibody or antibody fragment.
Suitable hSA-BDs for use in the multispecific antibody of the invention are binding domains provided in the present disclosure. The hSA-BDs of the invention sequences are listed in Table 4.
In particular, the hSA-BDs of the invention specifically bind to human serum albumin.
Other suitable hSA-BD for use in the multispecific antibody of the invention comprises or is derived from an antibody selected from the group consisting of: (i) polypeptides that bind serum albumin (see, for example, Smith et al., 2001, Bioconjugate Chem. 12:750-756; EP0486525; U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,964; WO 2004/001064; WO 2002/076489; and WO 2001/45746); (ii) anti-serum albumin binding single variable domains described in Holt et al., Protein Engineering, Design & Selection, vol 21, 5, pp 283-288, WO 2004/003019, WO 2008/096158, WO 2005/118642, WO 2006/0591056 and WO 2011/006915; (iii) anti-serum albumin antibodies described in WO 2009/040562, WO 2010/035012 and WO 2011/086091.
Other variable domains of the invention include amino acid sequences that have been mutated, yet have at least 80, 85, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98 or 99 percent identity in the CDR regions with the CDR regions depicted in the sequences described in Tables 1, 3 and 4. Other variable domains of the invention include mutant amino acid sequences wherein no more than 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 amino acids have been mutated in the CDR regions when compared with the CDR regions depicted in the sequence described in Tables 1, 3 and 4.
Suitably, the VH domains of the binding domains of the invention belong to a VH3 or VH4 family. In one embodiment, a binding domain of the invention comprises a VH domain belonging to the VH3 family. In the context of the present invention, the term “belonging to VHx family (or VLx family)” means that the framework sequences FR1 to FR3 show the highest degree of homology to said VHx family (or VLx, respectively). Examples of VH and VL families are given in Knappik et al., J. Mol. Biol. 296 (2000) 57-86, or in WO 2019/057787. A specific example of a VH domain belonging to VH3 family is represented by SEQ ID NO: 129, and a specific example of a VH domain belonging to VH4 family is represented by SEQ ID NO: 130. In particular, framework regions FR1 to FR3 taken from SEQ ID NO: 129 belong to VH3 family (Table 7, regions marked in non-bold). Suitably, a VH belonging to VH3 family, as used herein, is a VH comprising FR1 to FR3 having at least 85%, particularly at least 90%, more particularly at least 95% sequence identity to FR1 to VH4 sequences, may be found in Knappik et al., J. Mol. Biol. 296 (2000) 57-86 or in WO 2019/057787. Suitably, the hSA-BD of the invention comprises: Vκ frameworks FR1, FR2 and FR3, particularly Vκ1 or Vκ3 frameworks, particularly Vκ1 frameworks FR1 to 3, and a framework FR4, which is selected from a Vκ FR4, and a Vλ FR4, particularly a Vλ FR4. Suitable Vκ1 frameworks FR1 to 3 as well as an exemplary VA FR4 are set forth in SEQ ID NO: 131 (Table 7, FR regions are marked in non-bold). Alternative examples of Vκ1 sequences, and examples of Vκ2, Vκ3 or Vκ4 sequences, may be found in Knappik et al., J. Mol. Biol. 296 (2000) 57-86. Suitable Vκ1 frameworks FR1 to 3 comprise the amino acid sequences having at least 70, 80, 90, 95 percent identity to amino acid sequences corresponding to FR1 to 3 and taken from SEQ ID NO: 131 (Table 7, FR regions are marked in non-bold). Suitable VA FR4 are as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 132 to SEQ ID NO: 138 and in SEQ ID NO: 139 comprising a single cysteine residue, particular in a case where a second single cysteine is present in the corresponding VH chain, particularly in position 51 (AHo numbering) of VH, for the formation of an inter-domain disulfide bond. In one embodiment, the VL domains of the present invention comprises Vλ FR4 having at least 70, 80, or 90 percent identity to an amino acid sequence selected from any of SEQ ID NO: 132 to SEQ ID NO: 139, particularly to SEQ ID NO: 132 or 139.
The binding domains of the invention comprises a VH domain listed in Tables 1, 3 and 4. Suitably, a binding domain of the invention comprises a VH amino acid sequence listed in one of Tables 1, 3 and 4, wherein no more than 20 amino acids in a framework sequence (for example, a sequence which is not a CDR) have been mutated (wherein a mutation is, as various non-limiting examples, an addition, substitution or deletion). Suitably, a binding domain of the present invention comprises a VH amino acid sequence listed in one of Tables 1, 3 and 4, wherein no more than 15 amino acids, particularly not more than 10 amino acids, particularly not more than 5 amino acids in a framework sequence (for example, a sequence which is not a CDR) have been mutated (wherein a mutation is, as various non-limiting examples, an addition, substitution or deletion). Other binding domains of the invention include amino acids that have been mutated, yet have at least 80, 85, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98 or 99 percent identity in the VH regions with the VH regions depicted in the corresponding sequences described in one of Tables 1, 3 numbering), particularly at least positions 3 to 145 of one of the sequences shown in Tables 1, 3 and 4.
In particular, a binding domain of the invention comprises a VL domain listed in one of Tables 1, 3 and 4. Suitably, a binding domain of the invention comprises a VL amino acid sequence listed in one of Tables 1, 3 and 4, wherein no more than 20 amino acids in a framework sequence (for example, a sequence which is not a CDR) have been mutated (wherein a mutation is, as various non-limiting examples, an addition, substitution or deletion). Suitably, a binding domain of the invention comprises a VL amino acid sequence listed in one of Tables 1, 3 and 4, wherein no more than 15 amino acids, particularly not more than 10 amino acids, particularly not more than 5 amino acids in a framework sequence (for example, a sequence which is not a CDR) have been mutated (wherein a mutation is, as various non-limiting examples, an addition, substitution or deletion). Other binding domains of the invention include amino acids that have been mutated, yet have at least 80, 85, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98 or 99 percent identity in the VL regions with a VL region depicted in the sequences described in Tables 1, 3 and 4, including VL domains comprising at least positions 5 to 140 (AHo numbering), particularly at least positions 3 to 145 of one of the sequences shown in Tables 1, 3 and 4.
In the context of the present invention, the term “binding domain of the present invention” relates both to a binding domain as such, i.e. independent of a multispecific context, and, in particular, to a binding domain comprised in a multispecific construct, e.g. one of the binding domains comprised in a bispecific, trispecific or tetraspecific construct.
Suitably, a binding domain of the invention is selected from the group consisting of: a Fab, an Fv, an scFv, dsFv, a scAb, and STAB.
Suitably, a binding domain of the invention is an scFv antibody fragment.
The multispecific antibody of the invention may be in any suitable format.
Suitably, the binding domains of the multispecific antibody are operably linked. The binding domains of the multispecific antibody of the invention are capable of binding to their respective antigens or receptors simultaneously. The term “simultaneously”, as used in this connection, refers to the simultaneous binding of at least one of the MSLN-BDs and the CD3-BD. In specific cases, e.g. in cases of possible that three binding domains, i.e. both MSLN-BD and the CD3-BD, bind simultaneously.
The multispecific antibody of the invention comprises two MSLN-BD, and at least one CD3-BD, wherein said MSLN-BDs, and said CD3-BD are operably linked to each other.
The term “operably linked”, as used herein, indicates that two molecules (e.g., polypeptides, domains, binding domains) are attached so as to each retain functional activity. Two molecules can be “operably linked” whether they are attached directly or indirectly (e.g., via a linker, via a moiety, via a linker to a moiety). The term “linker” refers to a peptide or other moiety that is optionally located between binding domains or antibody fragments of the invention. A number of strategies may be used to covalently link molecules together. These include but are not limited to polypeptide linkages between N- and C-termini of proteins or protein domains, linkage via disulfide bonds, and linkage via chemical cross-linking reagents. In one aspect of this embodiment, the linker is a peptide bond, generated by recombinant techniques or peptide synthesis. Choosing a suitable linker for a specific case where two polypeptide chains are to be connected depends on various parameters, including but not limited to the nature of the two polypeptide chains (e.g., whether they naturally oligomerize), the distance between the N- and the C-termini to be connected if known, and/or the stability of the linker towards proteolysis and oxidation. Furthermore, the linker may contain amino acid residues that provide flexibility.
In the context of the present invention, the term “polypeptide linker” refers to a linker consisting of a chain of amino acid residues linked by peptide bonds that is connecting two domains, each being attached to one end of the linker. The polypeptide linker should have a length that is adequate to link two molecules in such a way that they assume the correct conformation relative to one another so that they retain the desired activity. In particular embodiments, the polypeptide linker has a continuous chain of between 2 and 30 amino acid residues (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, or 30 amino acid residues). In addition, the amino acid residues selected for inclusion in the polypeptide linker should exhibit properties that do not interfere significantly with exhibit a charge that would be inconsistent with the activity of the polypeptide, or interfere with internal folding, or form bonds or other interactions with amino acid residues in one or more of the monomers that would seriously impede the binding of receptor monomer domains. In particular embodiments, the polypeptide linker is non-structured polypeptide. Useful linkers include glycine-serine, or GS linkers. By “Gly-Ser” or “GS” linkers is meant a polymer of glycines and serines in series (including, for example, (Gly-Ser)n, (GSGGS)n, (GGGGS)n and (GGGS)n, where n is an integer of at least one), glycine-alanine polymers, alanine-serine polymers, and other flexible linkers such as the tether for the shaker potassium channel, and a large variety of other flexible linkers, as will be appreciated by those in the art. Glycine-serine polymers are preferred since both of these amino acids are relatively unstructured, and therefore may be able to serve as a neutral tether between components. Secondly, serine is hydrophilic and therefore able to solubilize what could be a globular glycine chain. Third, similar chains have been shown to be effective in joining subunits of recombinant proteins such as single-chain antibodies.
Suitably, the multispecific antibody is in a format selected from any suitable multispecific, e.g. at least bispecific, format known in the art, which do not comprise immunoglobulin Fc region(s), including, by way of non-limiting example, formats based on a tandem scDb (Tandab), a linear dimeric scDb (LD-scDb), a circular dimeric scDb (CD-scDb), a tandem tri-scFv, a tribody (Fab-(scFv)2), Fab-Fv2, triabody, scDb-scFv, tetrabody, di-diabody, CODV, tandem-di-scFv, tandem tri-scFv, Fab-(scFv)2, Fab-Fv2, or CODV fused to the N- and/or the C-terminus of a heterodimerization domain other than heterodimeric Fc domains, and MATCH (described in WO 2016/0202457; Egan T. et al., MABS 9 (2017) 68-84) and DuoBodies (bispecific IgGs prepared by the Duobody technology) (MAbs. 2017 February/March; 9(2):182-212. doi: 10.1080/19420862.2016.1268307). Particularly suitable, the multispecific antibody is a single-chain diabody (scDb)-scFv or a MATCH.
In one embodiment, the multispecific antibody of the invention does not comprise CH1 and/or CL regions.
In another embodiment, the multispecific antibody of the invention is in a format selected from the list consisting of scDb-scFv, triabody, and tribody. Particularly suitable for use herein is a scDb-scFv, in particular wherein one of said an scFv operably linked to said scDb.
The term “diabodies” refers to antibody fragments with two antigen-binding sites, which fragments comprise a VH connected to VL in the same polypeptide chain (VH-VL). By using a linker that is too short to allow pairing between the two domains on the same chain, the domains are forced to pair with the complementary domains of another chain to create two antigen-binding sites. Diabodies may be bivalent or bispecific. Diabodies are described more fully in, for example, EP 404 097, WO 93/01161, Hudson et al., Nat. Med. 9:129-134 (2003), and Hollinger et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90: 6444-6448 (1993). Triabodies and tetrabodies are also described in Hudson et al., Nat. Med. 9:129-134 (2003).
The bispecific scDb, in particular the bispecific monomeric scDb, particularly comprises two variable heavy chain domains (VH) or fragments thereof and two variable light chain domains (VL) or fragments thereof connected by linkers L1, L2 and L3 in the order VHA-L1-VLB-L2-VHB-L3-VLA, VHA-L1-VHB-L2-VLB-L3-VLA, VLA-L1-VLB-L2-VHB-L3-VHA, VLA-L1-VHB-L2-VLB-L3-VHA, VHB-L1-VLA-L2-VHA-L3-VLB, VHB-L1-VHA-L2-VLA-L3-VLB, VLB-L1-VLA-L2-VHA-L3-VHB or VLB-L1-VHA-L2-VLA-L3-VHB, wherein the VLA and VHA domains jointly form the antigen-binding site for the first antigen, and VLB and VHB jointly form the antigen-binding site for the second antigen.
The linker L1 particularly is a peptide of 2-10 amino acids, more particularly 3-7 amino acids, and most particularly 5 amino acids, and linker L3 particularly is a peptide of 1-10 amino acids, more particularly 2-7 amino acids, and most particularly 5 amino acids. In particular embodiments, the linker L1 and/or L3 comprises one or two units of four (4) glycine amino acid residues and one (1) serine amino acid residue (GGGGS)n, wherein n=1 or 2, particularly n=1.
The middle linker L2 particularly is a peptide of 10-40 amino acids, more particularly 15-30 amino acids, and most particularly 20-25 amino acids. In particular embodiments, said linker L2 comprises one or more units of four (4) glycine amino acid residues and one (1) serine amino acid residue (GGGGS)n, wherein n=1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8, particularly n=4.
In one embodiment, the multispecific antibody of the invention is a scDb-scFv. The term “scDb-scFv” refers to an antibody format, wherein a single-chain Fv In one embodiment, said flexible Gly-Ser linker is a peptide of 2-40 amino acids, e.g., 2-35, 2-30, 2-25, 2-20, 2-15, 2-10 amino acids, particularly 10 amino acids. In particular embodiments, said linker comprises one or more units of four (4) glycine amino acid residues and one (1) serine amino acid residue (GGGGS)n, wherein n=1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8, particularly n=2.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the multispecific antibody of the invention is in a MATCH format described in WO 2016/0202457; Egan T., et al., MABS 9 (2017) 68-84. In particular, in this embodiment, the multispecific antibody of the invention is in a MATCH3 or a MATCH4 format.
The multispecific antibody of the invention can be produced using any convenient antibody manufacturing method known in the art (see, e.g., Fischer, N. & Leger, O., Pathobiology 74 (2007) 3-14 with regard to the production of bispecific constructs; Hornig, N. & Farber-Schwarz, A., Methods Mol. Biol. 907 (2012)713-727, and WO 99/57150 with regard to bispecific diabodies and tandem scFvs). Specific examples of suitable methods for the preparation of the bispecific construct of the invention further include, inter alia, the Genmab (see Labrijn et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 110 (2013) 5145-5150) and Merus (see de Kruif et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 106 (2010) 741-750) technologies. Methods for production of bispecific antibodies comprising a functional antibody Fc part are also known in the art (see, e.g., Zhu et al., Cancer Lett. 86 (1994) 127-134); and Suresh et al., Methods Enzymol. 121 (1986) 210-228).
These methods typically involve the generation of monoclonal antibodies, for example by means of fusing myeloma cells with the spleen cells from a mouse that has been immunized with the desired antigen using the hybridoma technology (see, e.g., Yokoyama et al., Curr. Protoc. Immunol. Chapter 2, Unit 2.5, 2006) or by means of recombinant antibody engineering (repertoire cloning or phage display/yeast display) (see, e.g., Chames & Baty, FEMS Microbiol. Letters 189 (2000) 1-8), and the combination of the antigen-binding domains or fragments or parts thereof of two or more different monoclonal antibodies to give a bispecific or multispecific construct using known molecular cloning techniques.
The multispecific molecules of the invention can be prepared by conjugating the constituent binding specificities, using methods known in the art. For example, then conjugated to one another. When the binding specificities are proteins or peptides, a variety of coupling or cross-linking agents can be used for covalent conjugation. Examples of cross-linking agents include protein A, carbodiimide, N-succinimidyl-5-acetyl-thioacetate (SATA), 5,5′-dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB), o-phenylenedimaleimide (oPDM), N-succinimidyl-3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionate (SPDP), and sulfosuccinimidyl 4-(N-maleimidomethyl)cyclohaxane-1-carboxylate (sulfo-SMCC) (see e.g., Karpovsky et al., 1984 J. Exp. Med. 160: 1686; Liu, M A et al., 1985 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:8648). Other methods include those described in Paulus, 1985 Behring Ins. Mitt. No. 78, 118-132; Brennan et al., 1985 Science 229:81-83), and Glennie et al., 1987 J. Immunol. 139: 2367-2375). Conjugating agents are SATA and sulfo-SMCC, both available from Pierce Chemical Co. (Rockford, 111).
When the binding specificities are antibodies, they can be conjugated by sulfhydryl bonding of the C-terminus hinge regions of the two heavy chains. In a particular embodiment, the hinge region is modified to contain an odd number of sulfhydryl residues, for example one, prior to conjugation.
Alternatively, two or more binding specificities can be encoded in the same vector and expressed and assembled in the same host cell. This method is particularly useful where the bispecific molecule is a mAb×mAb, mAb×Fab, Fab×F (ab′)2 or ligand X Fab fusion protein. A multispecific antibody of the invention can be a single-chain molecule comprising one single-chain antibody and a binding determinant, or a single-chain multispecific antibody comprising two binding determinants. Multispecific antibody may comprise at least two single-chain molecules. Methods for preparing multispecific antibodies and molecules are described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,260,203; 5,455,030; 4,881,175; 5,132,405; 5,091,513; 5,476,786; 5,013,653; 5,258,498; and 5,482,858.
Binding of the multispecific antibodies to their specific targets can be confirmed by, for example, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), radioimmunoassay (REA), FACS analysis, bioassay (e.g., growth inhibition), or Western Blot assay. Each of these assays generally detects the presence of protein-antibody) specific for the complex of interest.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a nucleic acid encoding the multispecific antibody of the invention or fragments thereof or binding domains thereof. Such nucleic acid sequences can be optimized for expression in mammalian cells.
The term “nucleic acid” is used herein interchangeably with the term “polynucleotide(s)” and refers to one or more deoxyribonucleotides or ribonucleotides and polymers thereof in either single- or double-stranded form. The term encompasses nucleic acids containing known nucleotide analogs or modified backbone residues or linkages, which are synthetic, naturally occurring, and non-naturally occurring, which have similar binding properties as the reference nucleic acid, and which are metabolized in a manner similar to the reference nucleotides. Examples of such analogs include, without limitation, phosphorothioates, phosphoramidates, methyl phosphonates, chiral-methyl phosphorates, 2-O-methyl ribonucleotides, peptide-nucleic acids (PNAs). Unless otherwise indicated, a particular nucleic acid sequence also implicitly encompasses conservatively modified variants thereof (e.g., degenerate codon substitutions) and complementary sequences, as well as the sequence explicitly indicated. Specifically, as detailed below, degenerate codon substitutions may be achieved by generating sequences in which the third position of one or more selected (or all) codons is substituted with mixed-base and/or deoxyinosine residues (Batzer et al., Nucleic Acid Res. 19:5081, 1991; Ohtsuka et al., J. Biol. Chem. 260:2605-2608, 1985; and Rossolini et al., Mol. Cell. Probes 8:91-98, 1994).
The invention provides substantially purified nucleic acid molecules which encode polypeptides comprising segments or domains of the multispecific antibody described above. When expressed from appropriate expression vectors, polypeptides encoded by these nucleic acid molecules are capable of exhibiting antigen-binding capacity or capacities of the multispecific antibody of the present invention.
Also provided in the invention are polynucleotides which encode at least one CDR region and usually all three CDR regions of the binding domains of the multispecific antibody of the present invention set forth in Tables 1, 3 and 4. Because of the immunoglobulin amino acid sequences.
The polynucleotide sequences can be produced by de novo solid-phase DNA synthesis or by PCR mutagenesis of an existing sequence (e.g., sequences as described in the Examples below) encoding the multispecific antibody of the invention or fragments thereof or binding domains thereof. Direct chemical synthesis of nucleic acids can be accomplished by methods known in the art, such as the phosphotriester method of Narang et al., 1979, Meth. Enzymol. 68:90; the phosphodiester method of Brown et al., Meth. Enzymol. 68: 109, 1979; the diethylphosphoramidite method of Beaucage et al., Tetra. Lett., 22: 1859, 1981; and the solid support method of U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,066. Introducing mutations to a polynucleotide sequence by PCR can be performed as described in, e.g., PCR Technology: Principles and Applications for DNA Amplification, H. A. Erlich (Ed.), Freeman Press, NY, N.Y., 1992; PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications, Innis et al. (Ed.), Academic Press, San Diego, Calif., 1990; Mattila et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 19:967, 1991; and Eckert et al., PCR Methods and Applications 1:17, 1991.
Also provided in the invention are expression vectors and host cells for producing the multispecific antibody of the invention or fragments thereof or binding domains thereof.
The term “vector” is intended to refer to a polynucleotide molecule capable of transporting another polynucleotide to which it has been linked. One type of vector is a “plasmid”, which refers to a circular double stranded DNA loop into which additional DNA segments may be ligated. Another type of vector is a viral vector, wherein additional DNA segments may be ligated into the viral genome. Certain vectors are capable of autonomous replication in a host cell into which they are introduced (e.g., bacterial vectors having a bacterial origin of replication and episomal mammalian vectors). Other vectors (e.g., non-episomal mammalian vectors) can be integrated into the genome of a host cell upon introduction into the host cell, and thereby are replicated along with the host genome.
Moreover, certain vectors are capable of directing the expression of genes to which they are operatively linked. Such vectors are referred to herein as “recombinant expression vectors” (or simply, “expression vectors”). In general, plasmids. In the present specification, “plasmid” and “vector” may be used interchangeably as the plasmid is the most commonly used form of vector. However, the invention is intended to include such other forms of expression vectors, such as viral vectors (e.g., replication defective retroviruses, adenoviruses and adenoassociated viruses), which serve equivalent functions. In this particular context, the term “operably linked” refers to a functional relationship between two or more polynucleotide (e.g., DNA) segments. Typically, it refers to the functional relationship of a transcriptional regulatory sequence to a transcribed sequence. For example, a promoter or enhancer sequence is operably linked to a coding sequence if it stimulates or modulates the transcription of the coding sequence in an appropriate host cell or other expression system. Generally, promoter transcriptional regulatory sequences that are operably linked to a transcribed sequence are physically contiguous to the transcribed sequence, i.e., they are cis-acting. However, some transcriptional regulatory sequences, such as enhancers, need not be physically contiguous or located in close proximity to the coding sequences whose transcription they enhance.
Various expression vectors can be employed to express the polynucleotides encoding the multispecific antibody chains or binding fragments. Both viral-based and nonviral expression vectors can be used to produce the antibodies in a mammalian host cell. Nonviral vectors and systems include plasm ids, episomal vectors, typically with an expression cassette for expressing a protein or RNA, and human artificial chromosomes (see, e.g., Harrington et al., Nat Genet. 15:345, 1997). For example, nonviral vectors useful for expression of the MSLN-binding polynucleotides and polypeptides in mammalian (e.g., human) cells include pThioHis A, B and C, pcDNA3.1/His, pEBVHis A, B and C, (Invitrogen, San Diego, Calif.), MPS V vectors, and numerous other vectors known in the art for expressing other proteins. Useful viral vectors include vectors based on retroviruses, adenoviruses, adenoassociated viruses, herpes viruses, vectors based on SV40, papilloma virus, HBP Epstein Barr virus, vaccinia virus vectors and Semliki Forest virus (SFV). See, Brent et al., supra; Smith, Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 49:807, 1995; and Rosenfeld et al., Cell 68: 143, 1992.
the vector is to be expressed. Typically, the expression vectors contain a promoter and other regulatory sequences (e.g., enhancers) that are operably linked to the polynucleotides encoding a multispecific antibody chain or a fragment. In one embodiment, an inducible promoter is employed to prevent expression of inserted sequences except under inducing conditions. Inducible promoters include, e.g., arabinose, lacZ, metallothionein promoter or a heat shock promoter. Cultures of transformed organisms can be expanded under noninducing conditions without biasing the population for coding sequences whose expression products are better tolerated by the host cells. In addition to promoters, other regulatory elements may also be required or desired for efficient expression of a multispecific antibody chain or a fragment. These elements typically include an ATG initiation codon and adjacent ribosome binding site or other sequences. In addition, the efficiency of expression may be enhanced by the inclusion of enhancers appropriate to the cell system in use (see, e.g., Scharf et al., Results Probl. Cell Differ. 20: 125, 1994; and Bittner et al., Meth. Enzymol., 153:516, 1987). For example, the SV40 enhancer or CMV enhancer may be used to increase expression in mammalian host cells.
The expression vectors may also provide a secretion signal sequence position to form a fusion protein with polypeptides encoded by inserted multispecific antibody of the invention or fragments thereof or binding domains thereof sequences. More often, the inserted multispecific antibody of the invention or fragments thereof or binding domains thereof sequences are linked to signal sequences before inclusion in the vector. Vectors to be used to receive sequences encoding binding domains of the multispecific antibody light and heavy chain variable domains sometimes also encode constant regions or parts thereof.
The term “recombinant host cell” (or simply “host cell”) refers to a cell into which a recombinant expression vector has been introduced. It should be understood that such terms are intended to refer not only to the particular subject cell but to the progeny of such a cell. Because certain modifications may occur in succeeding generations due to either mutation or environmental influences, such progeny may not, in fact, be identical to the parent cell, but are still included within the scope of the term “host cell” as used herein.
invention or fragments thereof or binding domains thereof can be either prokaryotic or eukaryotic. E. coli is one prokaryotic host useful for cloning and expressing the polynucleotides of the present invention. Other microbial hosts suitable for use include bacilli, such as Bacillus subtilis, and other enterobacteriaceae, such as Salmonella, Serratia, and various Pseudomonas species. In these prokaryotic hosts, one can also make expression vectors, which typically contain expression control sequences compatible with the host cell (e.g., an origin of replication). In addition, any number of a variety of well-known promoters will be present, such as the lactose promoter system, a tryptophan (trp) promoter system, a beta-lactamase promoter system, or a promoter system from phage lambda. The promoters typically control expression, optionally with an operator sequence, and have ribosome binding site sequences and the like, for initiating and completing transcription and translation. Other microbes, such as yeast, can also be employed to express MSLN-binding polypeptides of the invention. Insect cells in combination with baculovirus vectors can also be used.
In one embodiment, mammalian host cells are used to express and produce the multispecific antibody of the invention or fragments thereof or binding domains thereof. For example, they can be either a hybridoma cell line expressing endogenous immunoglobulin genes or a mammalian cell line harboring an exogenous expression vector. These include any normal mortal or normal or abnormal immortal animal or human cell. For example, a number of suitable host cell lines capable of secreting intact immunoglobulins have been developed including the CHO cell lines, various Cos cell lines, HeLa cells, myeloma cell lines, transformed B-cells and hybridomas. The use of mammalian tissue cell culture to express polypeptides is discussed generally in, e.g., Winnacker, FROM GENES TO CLONES, VCH Publishers, N.Y., N.Y., 1987. Expression vectors for mammalian host cells can include expression control sequences, such as an origin of replication, a promoter, and an enhancer (see, e.g., Queen, et al., Immunol. Rev. 89:49-68, 1986), and necessary processing information sites, such as ribosome binding sites, RNA splice sites, polyadenylation sites, and transcriptional terminator sequences. These expression vectors usually contain promoters derived from mammalian genes or from mammalian viruses. Suitable promoters may be constitutive, cell type—but are not limited to, the metallothionein promoter, the constitutive adenovirus major late promoter, the dexamethasone-inducible MMTV promoter, the SV40 promoter, the MRP polIII promoter, the constitutive MPS V promoter, the tetracycline-inducible CMV promoter (such as the human immediate-early CMV promoter), the constitutive CMV promoter, and promoter-enhancer combinations known in the art.
Methods for introducing expression vectors containing the polynucleotide sequences of interest vary depending on the type of cellular host. For example, calcium chloride transfection is commonly utilized for prokaryotic cells, whereas calcium phosphate treatment or electroporation may be used for other cellular hosts. (See generally Sambrook, et al., supra). Other methods include, e.g., electroporation, calcium phosphate treatment, liposome-mediated transformation, injection and microinjection, ballistic methods, virosomes, immunoliposomes, polycatiomnucleic acid conjugates, naked DNA, artificial virions, fusion to the herpes virus structural protein VP22 (Elliot and O'Hare, Cell 88:223, 1997), agent-enhanced uptake of DNA, and ex vivo transduction. For long-term, high-yield production of recombinant proteins, stable expression will often be desired. For example, cell lines which stably express the multispecific antibody of the invention or fragments thereof or binding domains thereof can be prepared using expression vectors of the invention which contain viral origins of replication or endogenous expression elements and a selectable marker gene. Following the introduction of the vector, cells may be allowed to grow for 1-2 days in an enriched media before they are switched to selective media. The purpose of the selectable marker is to confer resistance to selection, and its presence allows growth of cells which successfully express the introduced sequences in selective media. Resistant, stably transfected cells can be proliferated using tissue culture techniques appropriate to the cell type. The present invention thus provides a method of producing the antibody of the invention or antigen-binding fragment thereof, wherein said method comprises the step of culturing a host cell comprising a nucleic acid or a vector encoding the antibody of the invention or antigen-binding fragment thereof, whereby said antibody of the disclosure or a fragment thereof is expressed.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to a method of producing the multispecific antibody of the invention or a binding domain thereof or a fragment acid encoding the multispecific antibody of the invention or a binding domain thereof or a fragment thereof. In particular, the present invention relates to a method of producing the multispecific antibody of the invention or a binding domain thereof or a fragment thereof, the method comprising (i) providing a nucleic acid sequence or two nucleic acid sequences encoding the multispecific antibody of the invention or a binding domain thereof, or a vector or two vectors encoding the multispecific antibody of the invention or a binding domain thereof, expressing said nucleic acid sequence or nucleic acid sequences, or said vector or vectors, and collecting said multispecific antibody or said binding domain from the expression system, or (ii) providing a host cell or host cells expressing a nucleic acid encoding the multispecific antibody of the invention or a binding domain thereof, culturing said host cell or said host cells; and collecting said multispecific antibody or said binding domain from the cell culture.
In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising the multispecific antibody of the invention, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers enhance or stabilize the composition, or facilitate preparation of the composition. Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers include solvents, dispersion media, coatings, antibacterial and antifungal agents, isotonic and absorption delaying agents, and the like that are physiologically compatible.
A pharmaceutical composition of the invention can be administered by a variety of methods known in the art. The route and/or mode of administration vary depending upon the desired results. Administration can be intravenous, intramuscular, intraperitoneal, or subcutaneous, or administered proximal to the site of the target. The pharmaceutically acceptable carrier should be suitable for intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous, parenteral, spinal or epidermal administration (e.g., by injection or infusion). Depending on the route of administration, the active compound, i.e., the multispecific antibody of the invention, may be coated in a material to protect the compound from the action of acids and other natural conditions that may inactivate the compound.
Pharmaceutical compositions of the invention can be prepared in accordance with methods well known and routinely practiced in the art. See, e.g., 2000; and Sustained and Controlled Release Drug Delivery Systems, J. R. Robinson, ed., Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1978. Pharmaceutical compositions are preferably manufactured under GMP conditions. Typically, a therapeutically effective dose or efficacious dose of the multispecific antibody of the invention is employed in the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention. The multispecific antibodies of the invention are formulated into pharmaceutically acceptable dosage forms by conventional methods known to those of skill in the art. Dosage regimens are adjusted to provide the optimum desired response (e.g., a therapeutic response). For example, a single bolus may be administered, several divided doses may be administered over time or the dose may be proportionally reduced or increased as indicated by the exigencies of the therapeutic situation. It is especially advantageous to formulate parenteral compositions in dosage unit form for ease of administration and uniformity of dosage. Dosage unit form as used herein refers to physically discrete units suited as unitary dosages for the subjects to be treated; each unit contains a predetermined quantity of active compound calculated to produce the desired therapeutic effect in association with the required pharmaceutical carrier.
Actual dosage levels of the active ingredients in the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention can be varied so as to obtain an amount of the active ingredient which is effective to achieve the desired therapeutic response for a particular patient, composition, and mode of administration, without being toxic to the patient. The selected dosage level depends upon a variety of pharmacokinetic factors including the activity of the particular compositions of the present invention employed, or the ester, salt or amide thereof, the route of administration, the time of administration, the rate of excretion of the particular compound being employed, the duration of the treatment, other drugs, compounds and/or materials used in combination with the particular compositions employed, the age, sex, weight, condition, general health and prior medical history of the patient being treated, and like factors.
The multispecific antibody of the invention is usually administered on multiple occasions. Intervals between single dosages can be weekly, monthly or yearly. Intervals can also be irregular as indicated by measuring blood levels of the antibody of the invention can be administered as a sustained release formulation, in which case less frequent administration is required. Dosage and frequency vary depending on the half-life of the antibody in the patient. In general, humanized antibodies show longer half-life than that of chimeric antibodies and nonhuman antibodies. The dosage and frequency of administration can vary depending on whether the treatment is prophylactic or therapeutic. In prophylactic applications, a relatively low dosage is administered at relatively infrequent intervals over a long period of time. Some patients continue to receive treatment for the rest of their lives. In therapeutic applications, a relatively high dosage at relatively short intervals is sometimes required until progression of the disease is reduced or terminated, and preferably until the patient shows partial or complete amelioration of symptoms of disease. Thereafter, the patient can be administered a prophylactic regime.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to the multispecific antibody of the invention or the pharmaceutical composition of the invention for use as a medicament. In a suitable embodiment, the present invention provides the multispecific antibody or the pharmaceutical composition for use in treatment of a proliferative disease, in particular a cancer in a subject in need thereof.
In another aspect, the present invention provides the multispecific antibody or the pharmaceutical composition for use in a manufacture of a medicament for treatment of a proliferative disease, in particular a cancer.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to the use of the multispecific antibody or the pharmaceutical composition for treating a proliferative disease, in particular a cancer in a subject in need thereof.
In a further aspect, the present invention relates to the use of the multispecific antibody or the pharmaceutical composition in the manufacture of a medicament for treatment of a proliferative disease, in particular a cancer, in a subject in need thereof.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of treating a subject comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of the multispecific antibody of the present invention. In a suitable embodiment, the present invention relates to a method of treating a proliferative disease, in particular effective amount of the multispecific antibody of the present invention.
The term “subject” includes human and non-human animals. Non-human animals include all vertebrates, e.g., mammals and non-mammals, such as non-human primates, sheep, dog, cow, chickens, amphibians, and reptiles. Except when noted, the terms “patient” or “subject” are used herein interchangeably.
The terms “treatment”, “treating”, “treat”, “treated”, and the like, as used herein, refer to obtaining a desired pharmacologic and/or physiologic effect. The effect may be therapeutic in terms of a partial or complete cure for a disease and/or adverse effect attributable to the disease or delaying the disease progression. “Treatment”, as used herein, covers any treatment of a disease in a mammal, e.g., in a human, and includes: (a) inhibiting the disease, i.e., arresting its development; and (b) relieving the disease, i.e., causing regression of the disease.
The term “therapeutically effective amount” or “efficacious amount” refers to the amount of an agent that, when administered to a mammal or other subject for treating a disease, is sufficient to effect such treatment for the disease. The “therapeutically effective amount” will vary depending on the agent, the disease and its severity and the age, weight, etc., of the subject to be treated.
In one embodiment, the proliferative disease is a cancer. The term “cancer” refers to a disease characterized by the rapid and uncontrolled growth of aberrant cells. Cancer cells can spread locally or through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body. The terms “tumor” and “cancer” are used interchangeably herein, e.g., both terms encompass solid and liquid, e.g., diffuse or circulating, tumors. As used herein, the term “cancer” or “tumor” includes premalignant, as well as malignant cancers and tumors. The term “cancer” is used herein to mean a broad spectrum of tumors, including all solid and hematological malignancies. Examples of such tumors include, but are not limited to: a benign or especially malignant tumor, solid tumors, brain cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, adrenal gland cancer, bladder cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer (e.g., gastric tumors), esophageal cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, rectum cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer (e.g. non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer), vaginal cancer, thyroid cancer, melanoma (e.g., unresectable or metastatic melanoma), renal cell carcinoma, sarcoma, glioblastoma, adenoma, a tumor of the neck and head, endometrial cancer, Cowden syndrome, Lhermitte-Duclos disease, Bannayan-Zonana syndrome, prostate hyperplasia, a neoplasia, especially of epithelial character, preferably mammary carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia (e.g., Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (e.g., Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, plasma cell myeloma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, a leukemia, and any combination thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the cancer is a cancer selected from mesothelioma, pancreatic cancer, and ovarian cancer.
The multispecific antibody of the present invention, or the composition of the present invention, inhibits the growth of solid tumors, but also liquid tumors. In a further embodiment, the proliferative disease is a solid tumor. The term “solid tumor” especially means a breast cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, rectum cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer (especially gastric cancer), cervical cancer, lung cancer (e.g., non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer), and a tumor of the head and neck. Further, depending on the tumor type and the particular combination used, a decrease of the tumor volume can be obtained. The multispecific antibody of the present invention, or the composition of the present invention, is also suited to prevent the metastatic spread of tumors and the growth or development of micro metastases in a subject having a cancer.
L144Q)
T141C)(PRO2309)
L144Q)
L144Q)
WVRQAPGKGLEWIG
GRFTISRDNSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCA
WGQGTLVTVSS
WIRQPPGKGLEWIG
RVTISVDSSKNQFSLKLSSVTAADTAVYYCA
WGQGTLVTVSS
WYQQKPGKAPKLLIY
GVPSRFSGSGSGTDFTLTISSLQPEDFATYYC
FGTGTKVTVLG
Throughout the text of this application, should there be a discrepancy between the text of the specification (e.g., Tables 1 to 7) and the sequence listing, the text of the specification shall prevail.
It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination. All combinations of the embodiments pertaining to the invention are specifically embraced by the present invention and are disclosed herein just as if each and every combination was individually and explicitly disclosed. In addition, all sub-combinations of the various embodiments and elements thereof are also specifically embraced by the present invention and are disclosed herein just as if each and every such sub-combination was individually and explicitly disclosed herein.
The present invention is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. Indeed, various modifications of the invention in addition to those described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.
To the extent possible under the respective patent law, all patents, applications, publications, test methods, literature, and other materials cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference.
The following Examples illustrates the invention described above, but is not, however, intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way. Other test models known as such to the person skilled in the pertinent art can also determine the beneficial effects of the claimed invention.
In a first step, anti-MSLN antibody fragments that have a medium to low binding affinity to MSLN should be identified. The anti-MSLN antibody fragments should be suitable for use in multispecific antibody formats, in particular the MATCH3 and MATCH4 antibody format.
The identification, selection, humanization and production of the humanized scFv anti-MSLN binding domains of the present invention were performed analogous to the scFv anti-CD3 binding domains described in patent application PCT/EP2018/064630, which is herewith incorporated by reference.
From several of the identified monoclonal antibodies having the desired properties, in particular the desired affinities, scFv molecules were produced according to the following procedure.
Rabbit antibodies were humanized by CDR engraftment on a A-capped Vk1/VH3 Fv scaffold and optional engraftment of specific rabbit framework residues. Each scFv was designed with a N-term-VL-peptide linker-VH-C-term orientation (peptide linker: (G4S)4).
Recombinant amino acid sequences were de novo synthesized and expression of scFv constructs was performed in CHO-S cells using CHOgro transient transfection kit (Mirus). Cultures were harvested after 5-7 days (cell viability <70%) of expression at 37° C. by centrifugation and proteins were purified from clarified culture supernatants by Protein L or A affinity chromatography followed, if needed, by a polishing step by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) using a Superdex S200 column.
For the quality control of the manufactured material standard analytical methods, such as SE-HPLC, UV280 and SDS-PAGE were used.
SE-HPLC analysis Samples were passed through either a Shodex™ (Showa Denko, Cat. #: 554-1740) KW402.5-4F column (for scFv analysis) or a Shodex™ (Showa Denko, Cat. #: 554-1741) KW403-4F column (MATCH protein analysis) with running buffer (Shodex™ KW402.5-4F: 250 mM NaCl, 50 mM NaOAc (Cat. #: A 1045), pH 6.0; Shodex™ KW403-4F: 35 mM NaH2PO4 (Cat. #: A 3905), 15 mM Na2HPO4 (Cat. #: A1372), 300 mM NaCl, pH 6.0) at a flow rate of 0.35 mL/min. Eluted protein was detected by absorbance at λ=280 nm.
Protein identity and degradation was assessed by SDS-PAGE analysis, loading denatured proteins onto MiniPROTEAN TGX™ precast gels (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Cat. #: 4569036) and staining electrophoresed protein with Coomassie brilliant blue solution. Molecular weight standard: BioRad Precision™ Plus (Cat. #: 161-03/04).
The manufacturing data of the produced scFv molecules are summarized in Table 8.
Pharmacodynamic Characterization of Anti-Mesothelin scFv Antibody PRO1783, PRO1925, PRO2306, PRO2309 (Low Affinity) and PRO1922
The humanized anti-mesothelin scFv antibody PRO1783 was evaluated for its primary pharmacodynamic properties including determination of binding kinetics and affinity to recombinant human and cynomolgus monkey MSLN in SPR, assessment of plasma-membranous binding to human and cynomolgus monkey MSLN expressing cell lines in cELISA and assessment of blockade of MSLN/MUC16 in cELISA. Additionally, the humanized anti-MSLN scFvs PRO1922, PRO1925, PRO2306 and PRO2309 were evaluated for their primary pharmacodynamic properties including determination of binding kinetics and affinity to recombinant human MSLN in SPR, assessment of plasma-membranous binding to human MSLN expressing cell lines in cELISA and assessment of blockade of MSLN/MUC16 in cELISA (PRO1922 and PRO1925). Results are summarized in Tables 9 to 13.
Affinity of scFv PRO1783 (derived from monoclonal antibody 54-01-G02) to recombinant human and cynomolgus monkey MSLN was determined by SPR analysis on a T200 device (Biacore, GE Healthcare). In this experiment, recombinant human and cynomolgus monkey MSLN (purchased from Peprotech and Sino Biological, respectively) were immobilized onto different flow cells of a CM5 sensor chip using a standard amine-coupling procedure. Then, scFv antibody PRO1783 was injected into the flow cells for 5 min at concentrations ranging from 90 to 0.12 nM and dissociation of the protein was allowed to proceed for 12 min. The dissociation (kd) and association (ka) rate constants and the equilibrium dissociation constant (KD) were calculated with the Biacore T200 evaluation software (GE Healthcare) using one-to-one Langmuir binding model. Affinity of scFv PRO1922 and PRO1925 were assessed by SPR as described above but using a concentration range of 15-0.12 nM. Affinities of scFv PRO2306 and PRO2309 were assessed by SPR as described above but using a concentration range of 90-0.35 nM.
As shown in Table 9, PRO1783 bound to recombinant human MSLN in SPR with an affinity in low nanomolar range (KD=2.91 nM). PRO1922, PRO1925, PRO2306 and PRO2309 bound to recombinant human MSLN in SPR with an affinity in the high sub-nanomolar range. SPR measurement also demonstrated binding of PRO1783 to recombinant cynomolgus monkey MSLN, although with reduced affinity (KD=30.06 nM, Table 10).
Binding to MSLN Expressing Cell Lines by cELISA
Binding of anti-MSLN scFv antibody PRO1783 to plasma-membranous MSLN was assessed by cELISA on H226 cancer cells. In brief, 20,000 NCI-H226 cells expressing MSLN or HEK293T (MSLN negative) were distributed to flat bottom tissue culture treated 96 well plates. The next day, plates were washed three times in overflow mode with 450 μl wash buffer (PBS, 0.2% BSA) per well, 50 μl of each point of the serial dilution of PRO1783 and anti-MSLN reference antibody Amatuximab were added, and plates were incubated for 1.5 h at room temperature (RT) under gentle agitation. After 3 washes with 450 μl wash buffer, 50 μl of HRP-coupled Protein L or HRP-coupled anti-human IgG antibody were added to each well. After 1 h incubation at RT on a nutating mixer, plates were washed three times with 450 μl of washing buffer per well prior to the addition of 50 μl TMB (3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine, KPL). After 10 min of development, the enzymatic reaction was stopped by addition of 50 μl of 1 M HCl per well and the plate was read at 450 nm using 690 nm as a reference wavelength.
Results of the experiment assessing the plasma-membranous binding of PRO1783 to H226 cell line expressing high levels of MSLN are shown in Table 11. The EC50 for binding of PRO1783 to H226 cell line was found at concentration of 1.44 nM, which is roughly six times worse when compared to the value obtained for the reference antibody Amatuximab (compare rel. EC50 values, Table 11). The EC50 values for binding of PRO1925, PRO2306 and PRO2309 to H226 cells were found to be about the same as for PRO1783. The EC50 values for binding of PRO1922 to H226 cells were found to be about the same as for Amatuximab. No binding of Amatuximab, PRO1783, PRO1922, PRO1925, PRO2306 and PRO2309 was detected when mesothelin negative HEK293T cells were tested in cELISA (data not shown). Concentration-response curves of PRO1783, PRO1922, PRO1925, PRO2306, PRO2309 and Amatuximab in cELISA using H226 cell line are displayed in
Cross-reactivity to cynomolgus monkey MSLN of anti-MSLN scFv antibody PRO1783 was tested in cELISA using recombinant CHO cell line expressing cynomolgus monkey MSLN. 20,000 CHO cells expressing cynomolgus monkey MSLN or CHO-K1 cells (cynomolgus monkey MSLN negative) were distributed to flat bottom tissue culture treated 96 well plates. Next day, plates were washed and serial dilutions of PRO1783 and anti-MSLN reference antibody Amatuximab were added as described in cELISA protocol using H226 cell line. After 1.5 h incubation at RT under gentle agitation, plates were washed again and HRP-coupled Protein L or HRP-coupled anti-human IgG antibody were added to detect binding of PRO1783 and Amatuximab, respectively. After 1 h incubation at RT on a nutating mixer, plates were washed and TMB was added to each well. After 10 min of development, the enzymatic reaction was stopped by addition of 50 μl of 1 M HCl per well and plate was read at 450 nm using 690 nm as a reference wavelength.
Results of cELISA using CHO cell line expressing cynomolgus monkey MSLN are shown in Table 12. EC50 of PRO1783 for binding to plasma-membranous cynomolgus monkey MSLN was found at a concentration of 12 nM, which is clearly inferior to the reference antibody Amatuximab (rel. EC50=0.03). On the other hand, when compared to the binding to plasma-membranous human MSLN an increased half-maximal binding concentration of PRO1783 is obvious, which is in line with the results of SPR analysis demonstrating reduced affinity of PRO1783 to recombinant cynomolgus monkey MSLN protein. Concentration-response curves of PRO1783 and Amatuximab in cELISA using CHO cell line expressing cynomolgus monkey MSLN are displayed in
The potency of anti-MSLN scFv antibodies PRO1783, PRO1922 and PRO1925 to block the MSLN/MUC16 interaction was assessed in a competition ELISA. ELISA plates were coated by adding 50 μl of PBS containing 1 μg/ml MUC16 over night at 4° C. Next day, plates were washed three times in overflow mode with 450 μl wash buffer per well and 300 μl of blocking buffer was added to each well for 1 h at RT on a nutating mixer. Then, biotinylated MSLN was diluted in blocking buffer to reach a final concentration of 1 ng/ml. Next, PRO1783, PRO1922, PRO1925 and Amatuximab were titrated in biotinylated MSLN-containing blocking buffer and incubated for 1 h at RT on a nutating mixer. ELISA plates were washed 3 times in overflow mode with 450 μl wash buffer per well and 50 μl of each concentration of the titration curve of PRO1783, PRO1922, PRO1925 and Amatuximab were added in duplicates to the ELISA plates. Plates were incubated 1.5 h at RT under gentle agitation. After three washes with 450 μl of washing buffer per well, 50 μl of 10 ng/ml streptavidin-polyHRP40 were added to each well of the ELISA plate. After 1 h incubation at RT, plates were washed three times with 450 μl wash buffer and developed for 5 to 10 minutes after addition of 50 μl TMB. Finally, the enzymatic reaction was stopped by addition of 50 μl of 1M HCl, and the plate was read at 450 nm using 690 nm as a reference wavelength.
Results of the competition ELISA are shown in Table 13. The IC50 to block human MSLN/MUC16 interaction by PRO1783 was found at a concentration of 0.5 nM, which is inferior to the reference antibody Amatuximab as shown by the relative IC50 value. Hence, PRO1783 is less potent as reference antibody Amatuximab to neutralize human MSLN/MUC16 interaction. PRO1922 and PRO1925 could block the human MSLN/MUC16 interaction with significant lower IC50 values than PRO1783. Concentration-response curves of PRO1783, PRO1922, PRO1925 and Amatuximab in competition ELISA are displayed in
The anti-MSLN binding domain PRO1795, which has a high binding affinity to MSLN, is used as reference binding domain.
The identification, selection, humanization and production of the humanized reference anti-MSLN binding domain PRO1795 was performed analogous to the anti-MSLN binding domains of the present invention and anti-CD3 molecule described herein.
Also, PRO1795 was evaluated for its primary pharmacodynamic properties including determination of binding kinetics and affinity to recombinant human and cynomolgus monkey MSLN in SPR, assessment of plasma-membranous binding to human and cynomolgus monkey MSLN expressing cell lines in cELISA and assessment of blockade of MSLN/MUC16 in cELISA. Results are summarized in Tables 9 to 13.
Amatuximab/
Amatuximab)
Amatuximab/
Amatuximab)
Amatuximab/
Epitope Mapping of Anti-MSLN Rabbit IgG Clone 54-01-G02 (Predecessor Clone of Low Affinity Anti-MSLN scFv Domain PRO1783):
Binding to Human/Mouse MLSN Variants by cELISA
In order to precisely define the binding region of selected anti-MSLN rabbit IgGs, binding level to HEK293T cells transiently transfected with seven human/mouse variants (V5 tagged) of the extracellular domain (ECD) of MSLN was assessed by cELISA (
When anti-MSLN rabbit IgG clones 54-01-G02 (predecessor clone of low affinity anti-MSLN scFv domain PRO1783) was tested in cELISA, a reduction of binding to the chimeric human/mouse variant V1 (most distal region of the ECD of human MSLN) was observed (reduction to 65% binding relative to V5 reference antibody, Table 14), whereas the binding of 54-01-G02 to all other variants was above 90%. These data suggest that V1 region of human MSLN represents an important region for binding of 54-01-G02. However, as 54-01-G02 can still bind substantially to human MSLN even in the absence of V1 region, other regions of the ECD of human MSLN are involved in binding of 54-01-G02 too (Table 14). Regarding the rabbit IgG 5422-H03 (predecessor clone of high affinity anti-MSLN scFv domain PRO1795), no binding region could be identified in cELISA using chimeric human/mouse variants of the ECD of human MSLN (data not shown).
The identification, selection, humanization as well as the production and characterization of the humanized anti-CD3 binding domain 28-21-D09 sc04 were performed as described in the patent application PCT/EP2018/064630, which is herewith incorporated by reference.
The identification, selection, humanization as well as the production and characterization of the humanized anti-hSA binding domain 19-01-H04-sc03 and 23-13-A01-sc03 were performed as described in the patent application EP19206959.9, which is herewith incorporated by reference. The identification, selection, humanization as well as the production and characterization of the humanized anti-hSA binding domain 19-04-A10-sc02 (PRO2155) was performed analogous to the procedures described in the patent application EP19206959.9. The characterization of the anti-hSA scFv PRO2155 is briefly outlined in the following.
Characterization of the anti-hSA scFvs 19-04-A10-sc02 (PRO2155)
Binding kinetics (including affinity) of the selected domain 19-04-A10-sc02 to human serum albumin (hSA, Sigma-Aldrich A3782) were determined by SPR analysis on a T200 device (Biacore, Cytiva) both at pH 7.4 and pH 5.5. hSA molecules were covalently immobilized to a carboxymethylated dextran surface (CM5 sensorchip, Biacore, Cytiva) and a titration series of each scFv molecule was injected as analyte. After each analyte injection-cycle, every flow channel on the sensor chip was regenerated (Glycine pH 2.0), and a new concentration of scFv molecule was injected. The binding kinetics to hSA were measured using a multi-cycle kinetic assay, with eleven concentrations from 0.044 to 45 nM (1:2) diluted in a relevant running buffer (PBS 0.05% Tween-20, or PBS 0.05% Tween-20, pH 5.5). The apparent dissociation (kd) and association (ka) rate constants, and the apparent dissociation equilibrium constant (KD) were calculated with the Biacore analysis software (Biacore Evaluation software Version 3.2, Cytiva) using a one-to-one Langmuir binding model and quality of the fits was monitored based on relative Chi2. The binding level was calculated as the maximum stability binding achieved normalized to the theoretical Rmax.
Binding kinetics of the selected scFv were also determined for the cynomolgus monkey serum albumin (cSA, Molecular Innovations CYSA) and for the mouse serum albumin (mSA, Sigma-Aldrich A3559) as described above, with the difference that cSA or mSA were used instead of hSA. Binding kinetics to hSA, mSA and cSA at pH 5.5 and pH 7.4 are summarized in Table 15.
HSA-domains 19-04-A10-sc02 (PRO2155) and 19-04-A10-sc06 (sc02 domain with VL-VH disulfide, VL-T141C/VH-G51C, AHo numbering; PRO2317) were subjected to a four-week stability study, in which the scFvs were formulated in aqueous buffer (50 mM NaCiP, 150 mM NaCl, pH 6.4) at 10 mg/ml and stored at temperatures of <−80° C., 4° C. and 40° C. for four weeks. The fractions of monomers and oligomers in the formulation were evaluated by integration of SE-HPLC peak areas at different time points over the course of the study. Table 16 summarizes monomeric content in % and % monomer loss relative to d0. Changes in protein concentration were monitored by UV-Vis measurement at 280 nm over the course of the study. As there was no notable protein content loss observed for any of the samples relative to d0, data is not shown. Thermal stability was analyzed by nDSF (NanoTemper) determining the onset of unfolding (Tonset) and midpoint of unfolding (Tm). DSF results are shown in Table 16.
The MATCH is a format invented by Numab that consists solely of variable domains connected by different linkers that allow for the specific pairing of matching domain pairs only (Egan T J et al., Novel multi-specific heterodimeric antibody format allowing modular assembly of variable domain fragments. MABS 9 (2017) 68-84). This format is particularly well suited for the convenient screening of different combinations of antigen-binding domains for optimal cooperativity. The MATCH can be expressed recombinantly from mammalian cells. For the purification, a conventional affinity chromatography step can be used.
The architecture of MATCH molecules is depicted in
Similar to the MATCH4 and MATCH3 format, the scMATCH3 format consists solely of variable domains connected by different linkers as depicted in
Combining two to three rabbit antibodies humanized with a A-capped Fv scaffold, anti-parallel tetraspecific MATCH4 molecules according to the present invention as well as a reference trispecific scMATCH3 molecule, having only one high affinity MSLN-BD, were designed as summarized in Table 17.
Expression of MATCH constructs was performed in CHO-S cells using CHOgro transient transfection kit (Mirus). Cultures were harvested after 5-7 days (cell viability <70%) of expression at 37° C. by centrifugation and proteins were purified from clarified culture supernatants by Protein L or A affinity chromatography followed, if needed, by a polishing step by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) using a Superdex S200 column in 50 mM phosphate-citrate buffer with 300 mM sucrose at pH 6.5. Monomeric content of SEC fractions was assessed by SE-HPLC analysis and fractions with a monomeric content >95% were pooled. For the quality control of the manufactured material, standard analytical methods, such as SE-HPLC, UV280 and SDS-PAGE were used.
The manufacturing details for the produced molecules are summarized in Table 18.
The following section describes the characterization of exemplary multi-specific molecules, which are either monovalent or bivalent for human MSLN, monovalent for human CD3ε and monovalent for human serum albumin (hSA). The bivalent anti-MSLN antibodies PRO2000, PRO2100, PRO2562, PRO2566, PRO2567 and PRO2660 (i.e. biMSLN×CD3×hSA) and monovalent anti-MSLN antibody PRO1872 (i.e. MSLNlow KD×CD3×hSA) were tested in SPR to assess their binding kinetics and affinities to recombinant human MSLN and human CD3ε in SPR.
Affinity of multi-specific anti-MSLN antibodies to recombinant human MSLN was determined by SPR analysis on a T200 device (Biacore, GE Healthcare). In this experiment, recombinant human MSLN (purchased from Peprotech) was immobilized onto a CM5 sensor chip as described above. Multi-specific antibodies were injected into the flow cells and the binding kinetics as well as the equilibrium dissociation constant (KD) were calculated as described above.
Affinity of multi-specific anti-MSLN antibodies to recombinant human MSLN in the absence of avidity was determined by SPR analysis on a T200 device (Biacore, GE Healthcare). In this experiment, a proprietary anti-framework rabbit IgG (PRO2679) was immobilized onto a CM5 sensor chip as described above. Multi-specific antibodies were captured in the respective flow cells by injections of 20 seconds. Subsequently, recombinant human MSLN (purchased from Peprotech) was injected into the flow cells and the binding kinetics as well as the equilibrium dissociation constant (KD) were calculated as described above.
As shown in Table 19 monovalent anti-MSLN antibody PRO1872 bound to recombinant human MSLN in SPR with a binding affinity in sub-nanomolar range (KD=0.187 nM). A similar binding affinity to human MSLN was found for the corresponding anti-MSLN scFv antibody PRO1795 (KD=0.321 nM, domain 54-22-H03-sc01, data not shown). Bivalent anti-MSLN antibody PRO2000 showed a binding affinity to recombinant human MSLN in low nanomolar range (KD=1.06 nM), which is superior to the binding affinity found for the corresponding anti-MSLN scFv antibody PRO1783 (KD=2.91 nM, domain 54-01-G02-sc01, Table 9). PRO2562, PRO2566 and PRO2567 show very similar affinities to human MSLN in this assay with KD values in the low nM range between 1.39 and 1.52 nM.
Affinity of multi-specific anti-MSLN antibodies to recombinant human CD3ε was determined by SPR analysis on a T200 device (Biacore, GE Healthcare). In this experiment, human recombinant CD3ε protein (Sino Biological) was immobilized on a CM5 sensor chip (GE healthcare) by amine-coupling. Serial dilutions of anti-MSLN multi-specific antibodies in HBS-T+ buffer (10 mM HEPES, 150 mM NaCl, and 0.05% Tween 20, pH 7.4) were injected into the flow cells at a flow rate of 30 μl/min for 5 min. Dissociation of the antibodies from the CD3ε on the CM5 chip was allowed to proceed for 12 min. After each injection cycle, surfaces were regenerated with one injection of 10 mM Glycine HCl, pH 2. The apparent dissociation (kd) and association (ka) rate constants and the apparent dissociation equilibrium constant (KD) were calculated with the Biacore analysis software (BIAevaluation, GE Healthcare) using one-to-one Langmuir binding model and quality of the fits was monitored based on Chi2 and U-value, which is a measure for the quality of the curve fitting. Since the fits using the one-to-one Langmuir binding model showed suboptimal quality of curve fitting, the KD was in addition calculated using a two-state reaction model. This model describes a 1:1 binding of analyte to immobilized ligand followed by a conformational change that stabilizes the complex.
As shown in Table 20, anti-MSLN antibodies PRO1872 and PRO2000 both monovalent for CD3ε and harboring the same anti-CD3 domain (28-21-D09-sc04) bound to recombinant human CD3ε in SPR with a similar binding affinity in nanomolar range (PRO1872, KD=12.1 nM; PRO2000, KD=20.0 nM). PRO2562, PRO2566, PRO2567 and PRO2660 show somewhat better affinities to recombinant human CD3c with KD values in the low nM range between 2.97 and 6.45 nM.
The binding kinetics to human serum albumin (hSA, Sigma Aldrich, cat. A3782) was assessed by SPR on a T200 device (Biacore, GE Healthcare). HSA was immobilized on a sensor chip (CM5 sensor chip, GE healthcare) by amine-coupling. Serial dilutions of anti-MSLN multi-specific antibodies ranging from 0.7 to 180 nM diluted in running buffer (PBS-Tween20) at pH 5.5 were injected into the flow cells for 5 min. The dissociation time was set to 12 min. The apparent dissociation (kd) and association (ka) rate constants and the apparent dissociation equilibrium constant (KD) were calculated using one-to-one Langmuir binding model as described above.
As shown in Table 21, anti-MSLN antibodies PRO1872 (anti-hSA domain: 23-13-A01-sc02) bound to recombinant hSA in SPR with a binding affinity in sub-nanomolar range (KD=0.175 nM). PRO2562, PRO2566, PRO2567 and PRO2660 show somewhat lower affinities to recombinant hSA with KD values in the low nM range between 5.71 and 8.80 nM.
Storage Stability and Melting Temperature by nDSF
MATCH4 molecules were subjected to a 28 day stability study, in which the molecules were formulated in aqueous buffer (50 mM phosphate-citrate buffer with 300 mM sucrose at pH 6.5) at 1 mg/mL and stored at <−80° C., 4° C. and 40° C. for 28 days. The fraction of monomers and oligomers in the formulation were evaluated by integration of SE-HPLC peak areas at different time points over the course of the study. Table 22 summarizes monomeric content in % and % monomer loss relative to day 0. Changes in protein concentration were monitored by UV-Vis measurement at 280 nm over the course of the study and are shown in Table 23. Thermal stability was analyzed by nDSF (NanoTemper) determining the onset of unfolding (Tonset), midpoint of unfolding (Tm) and scattering onset temperature. Tm results including standard deviation (SD) of duplicate/triplicate measurements are shown in Table 24.
All four MATCH4 molecules exhibit good stability profiles and only show minor monomeric content loss or protein content loss after 28 days incubation. There is no notable change in monomeric content at temperatures of −80° C. and 4° C. as well as upon repeated freeze-thawing (5×) as performed with the day 28/−80° C. sample before SE-HPLC/UV measurement.
One objective is to compare the ability of the multispecific molecules, monovalent or bivalent for mesothelin binding, to target cell lines exhibiting different levels of mesothelin at their cell surface. Therefore, plasma membranous mesothelin expression was quantified on the different cell lines.
The Antibody Binding Capacity (ABC) on cancer cell lines expressing various levels of mesothelin and on healthy mesothelial tissue was assessed by FC (flow-cytometry) using Quantum Simply Cellular anti-human IgG kit (Bangs Laboratories). Briefly, 1 mg of anti-mesothelin antibody (7D9.3, Genentech) was conjugated with Alexa Fluor 488 using the Lightning-Link Rapid conjugation kit (Expedeon) following manufacturer's instructions. Receptor density values are reported as the antibody binding capacity (ABC). ABC values were derived from standard curves generated with Quantum Simply Cellular beads anti-human IgG (Bangs Laboratories, Inc.). These beads consist of four populations of microspheres that are each conjugated to a distinct number of anti-human IgG molecules per bead. As a first step, increasing concentrations of Alexa Fluor 488-labelled anti-mesothelin antibody were tested on the bead population with the highest amount of binding sites to determine the saturating antibody concentration, which was used during quantification as described by the manufacturer's protocol. Then, the beads and test samples were stained according to the manufacturer's instructions with the corresponding saturating concentration of Alexa Fluor 488 labelled anti-mesothelin antibody and were run on the same day and at the same photomultiplier tube settings as the test samples. To calculate ABC values, the geometric means for the four Quantum Simply Cellular bead populations were analyzed using the NovoExpress software (ACEA Biosciences). The QuickCal v. 2.3 Excel spreadsheet-based analysis template (Bangs Laboratories, Inc) was used to create a standard curve by linear regression. R square values were typically ≥0.99. ABC values for the Alexa Fluor 488-anti-mesothelin antibody labelled samples were interpolated from the standard curve.
Mesothelin density on the plasma membrane of three cancer cell lines (H226, H292 and HPAC) and one cell line derived from heathy mesothelial tissue (MeT-5A; (ATCC® CRL-9444™); supplier: ATCC) was determined using the Quantum Simply Cellular beads. Data obtained are presented in Table 25. H226 cells show the highest expression level followed by the HPAC cell line, which exhibit a 4-fold lower expression. A comparable mesothelin expression level was found on H292 and MeT-5A cell lines which was 8 to 10-fold lower than the expression observed on the cell surface of the H226 cells.
To assess the ability of biMSLNhigh KD×CD3×hSA to selectively direct T cells to kill mesothelin-expressing cells compared to the MSLNlow KD×CD3×hSA, a cytotoxicity assay using cell lines expressing different mesothelin densities on their cell surface was performed in the presence of human PBMCs. In addition, the impact of the presence of soluble mesothelin (sMSLN) on the potencies of the molecules was also assessed in this assay. Simultaneous binding to mesothelin on cancer cells and CD3ε by MSLNlow KD×CD3×hSA tri-specific molecules leads to cross-linking of CD3ε on T cells and activates a signaling cascade that triggers T cell activation (CD69 upregulation, cytokine secretion) and the release of cytotoxic granules, which ultimately results in target cell killing.
Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated from fresh blood of healthy volunteers using the lymphocyte separation medium Lymphoprep (Stemcell technologies) according to manufacturer's instructions. In this set of experiments, blood from three different donors (donor #1, donor #2 and donor #3) were used. The properties of the blood of the individual donors differ greatly, in particular with regard to the amount and reactivity of the CD8+ T cells comprised therein. Consequently, the killing potencies among these blood derived CD8+ T cell samples varies over a wide range. This results in different killing potencies and CD8+ T cell activation potencies with the same test molecule in presence of the same target cells, as observed in the examples disclosed herein.
Briefly, blood was diluted 1:2 with human PBMC isolation buffer (PBS, 2% FCS, 2 mM EDTA) and applied to Leucosep tubes containing recommended amount of Lymphoprep medium. LeucoSep tubes were centrifuged for 30 min at 800×g without brake at RT. Then, the cell layer containing PBMCs was collected and washed twice with human PBMCs isolation buffer and red blood cells were lysed using red blood cells lysis buffer for 5 min at RT. Isolated human cells were then washed once with their respective isolation buffer and once with assay medium (RPMI-1640, 10% FCS). After platelet removal, isolated PBMCs were resuspended in assay medium at a density of 3×106 viable cells per ml.
Three cancer cell lines, H226 cells (high mesothelin density), HPAC cells (intermediate mesothelin density), and H292 cells (low mesothelin density) as well as the MeT-5A cell line derived from healthy mesothelial tissue (low mesothelin density), were used as target cells. 5,000 viable target cells previously labelled with PKH67 and diluted in 75 μl of assay medium (RPMI-1640, 10% FCS) were added to 96-well plates. When applicable, assay buffer containing 50, 100 or 500 ng/ml soluble mesothelin was used. 25 μl of 6-fold concentrated test proteins were diluted in assay medium and added to appropriate wells. 150,000 viable effector cells (PBMCs) diluted in 50 μl assay medium were added to each well (E:T ratio of 30:1) and plates were mixed on a nutating mixer at RT prior to their incubation at 37° C., 5% CO2. After 40 h, cells were trypsinized, resuspended in staining buffer (PBS, 2% BCS, 2 mM EDTA) and transferred into non-binding plates.
Cells were stained for different markers such as CD69, CD8, CD4, CD11c and Annexin-V. For analysis, the focus was on apoptotic and dead target cells and activated CD8+ T cells. Target cells were identified by green fluorescence (PKH67) and their viability was analyzed by Annexin-V APC. Effector cells (CD8+ cells) were identified by detecting CD8 on their surface (anti-CD8 PerCP-Cy5.5). Activation of CD8+ T cells was finally detected by quantification of CD69 expression (anti-CD69 PE). CD4 was used to discriminate between CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. CD11c was used to stain monocytes and dendritic cells and to improve gating of target cells. For all markers, with the exception of Annexin-V, the cells were incubated for 30 min at RT under gentle agitation. Cells were washed once with staining buffer, once with Annexin binding buffer and Annexin-V staining was performed for 30 min at RT under agitation. Cells were washed once with Annexin-V binding buffer and flow cytometry analysis was done on a Novocyte Flow Cytometer.
The percentage of specific target cells lysis was calculated according to the following equation:
The percentage of activated CD8+ T cells corresponds to the proportion of CD69+ CD8+ T cells.
The release of LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) from the cytosol is an indicator of cell death. A colorimetric LDH-release assay (Roche) was set up to examine the cytotoxicity mediated by lead molecules of interest. Two cancer cell lines, H226 cells (high mesothelin density) and OVCAR-3 cells (intermediate mesothelin density) as well as the MeT-5A cell line derived from healthy mesothelial tissue (low mesothelin density), were used as target cells. 10,000 viable target cells were added to 96-well plates to adhere overnight. 300,000 viable effector cells (PBMCs) were added to each well in hSA containing buffer the following day (E:T ratio of 30:1). The respective molecules indicated in the figures were added in 5-fold dilution steps starting at 50 nM. Where applicable, a final concentration of 0 ng/mL sMSLN, 50 ng/mL sMSLN and 500 ng/mL sMSLN were added to the wells. After 40 h, supernatants were removed for LDH release analysis, and cells were stained for T cell markers, including activation.
The percentage of specific lysis was calculated as follows:
Cytotoxic potential and effect on CD8+ T cell activation of MATCH molecules PRO2000 (MATCH-4: biMSLNhighKD×CD3×hSA) and PRO1872 (scMATCH-3: MSLNlowKD×CD3×hSA) was assessed using a flow cytometry based cytotoxicity assay. Data obtained when using the high mesothelin expressing cell line H226 and the low mesothelin expressing MeT-5A cells derived from healthy tissue are presented in Table 26 and 27, and concentration response curves for the MATCH molecules are presented in
Furthermore, cytotoxic activity and effect on CD8+ T cell activation of PRO2000 and PRO1872 were tested on two other target cancer cell lines expressing intermediate and low mesothelin levels, HPAC and H292 cells, respectively (Table 27 and
Several studies report serum concentrations of soluble mesothelin of several hundreds of ng/ml in cancer patients. Therefore, we evaluated the impact of the presence of soluble mesothelin on the potency of the molecules to kill target cells.
Cytotoxic potential and effect on CD8+ T cell activation of MATCH molecules PRO2000 and PRO1872 were compared using high mesothelin expressing H226 cells in the absence or presence of 50 ng/ml or 500 ng/ml of soluble mesothelin (sMSLN). Data obtained are presented in Table 28 and 29 and concentration response curves of the molecules are presented in
In addition, a variant of PRO2000, PRO2100 was characterized in order to show that both molecules have equivalent potency to kill target cells. In PRO2100 a potential glycosylation site has been mutated to prevent glycosylation.
Cytotoxic potential of MATCH4 molecules PRO2000 and PRO2100 was compared using the flow cytometry-based cytotoxicity assay in presence of high mesothelin expressing H226 cells and low mesothelin expressing mesothelial cells, MeT-5A. PRO1872 was included as well. Data obtained are presented in Table 30 and concentration response curves are presented in
Based on the data obtained above, the cytotoxic potential of further exemplary MATCH molecules PRO2567, PRO2566, PRO2562, and PRO2660 (MATCH-4: biMSLNhighKD×CD3×hSA) was assessed by LDH release as outlined in the methods section. When examining PRO2567, PRO2566, and PRO2562, these molecules demonstrated higher potency and similar dose response curves relative to PRO2660 on high MSLN-expressing H226 cells (
The changes in potency and dose response curves of the lead molecules were examined in the presence of 50 and 500 ng/mL sMSLN (
In order to support the cytotoxicity data obtained using target cells expressing different cell surface densities of mesothelin (H226, HPAC, H292, OVCAR-3 and MeT-5A), cell binding of the MATCH molecules to at least two of these cell lines was assessed by flow cytometry. The exemplary MATCH4 molecules PRO2000, PRO2100, PRO2562, PRO2566, PRO2567 and PRO2660 were tested in order to confirm that both molecules have similar binding properties. The scMATCH3 PRO1872 was included as well for comparison.
Cells were washed twice with 100 μl PBS and were incubated with five-fold serial dilutions of PRO1872, PRO2000, PRO2100, PRO2562, PRO2566, PRO2567 or PRO2660 in staining buffer (PBS, 2% BCS heat inactivated, 2 mM EDTA) ranging from 50,000 to 0.005 pM. Cells were washed twice with staining buffer and binding of the MATCH4 molecules was visualized by protein L-PE (2 μg/ml). Plates were incubated 30 min at RT on a nutating mixer, washed twice with staining buffer, centrifuged for 5 min at 200 g and re-suspended in a final volume of 50 μl of staining buffer. PE signal of 20,000 events per well was analyzed by flow cytometry using a Novocyte flow cytometer device and the data were analyzed using the NovoExpress software (ACEA Biosciences). Mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) values of MATCH molecules were corrected for non-specific binding by subtracting blank (zero concentration of antibody). MFI data were analyzed with a four-parameter logistic curve fit using the GraphPad Prism Data Analysis Software (Graph Pad Software), and the concentration of molecules of interest required to reach 50% of target cell binding (EC50) was calculated.
Binding of PRO2000, PRO2100 and PRO1872 to the different cells lines was assessed by flow cytometry. The concentration at which half maximal binding (EC50) was observed and the maximal binding values reached (MFI) are presented in Table 33 and the corresponding titration curves are presented in
Moreover, cell binding of the MATCH4 molecules PRO2567, PRO2566, PRO2562, and PRO2660 (biMSLN×CD3×hSA) to different cells lines was assessed as well, as described above. The concentration at which half maximal binding (EC50) was observed and the maximal binding values reached (MFI) are presented in Table 34 and the corresponding titration curves are presented in
To sum up, the EC50 binding of the lead MATCH4 molecules PRO2567, PRO2566, PRO2562 is comparable to the cell binding data obtained for PRO2000 and PRO2100. The reduction of the binding strength to intermediate MSLN expressing OVCAR-3 cells, probably due to the loss of avidity, was also seen in cytotoxicity experiments, where a reduced potency to kill OVCAR-3 cells was found for MATCH4 molecules when compared to the killing of high MSLN expressing H226 cells.
Two in vivo, mesothelin-expressing cell line xenograft experiments were performed at Charles River Laboratories in order to determine the ability of PRO2000 (biMSLNhigh KD×CD3×hSA) to effectively control tumor growth relative to control animals. One experiment examined the tumor growth inhibition of an H292 xenograft model, and another experiment examined the tumor growth inhibition of an HPAC xenograft model.
Female NCG mice from Charles River Laboratories were bred and housed under conditions suitable for humanized mouse work. Animals were used between 8-12 weeks of age for both studies.
Animals in treatment groups (n=5-6 per group H292, n=10 per group HPAC) were subcutaneously co-implanted with 1×107 H292 NSCLC tumor cells and 1×107 PBMCs or 1×107 HPAC tumor cells and 2.5×106 PBMCs in the flank. After 5 days, animals were dosed intravenously with molecules of interest, with additional doses every 5 days until the end of the experiment. During the experiment, animals were monitored at regular intervals for tumor growth using caliper measurements and for weight loss. Animals were euthanized either when the mean tumor volume in the control group was 800 mm3 or at 40 days, whichever came first. Animals were monitored and euthanized according to animal health and welfare regulations at Charles River Laboratories.
We assessed the efficacy of PRO2000 (biMSLNhigh KD×CD3×hSA) in promoting tumor growth inhibition using a PBMC/H292 co-implantation model, as described in the methods. H292 cells express moderate levels of MSLN and are established from non-small cell lung carcinoma. Multiple dose levels of PRO2000 were administered intravenously, as shown in
The efficacy of PRO2000 (biMSLNhigh KD×CD3×hSA) in promoting tumor growth inhibition was further assessed using a PBMC/HPAC co-implantation model as described in the methods. HPAC tumor cells express higher levels of MSLN compared to H292. Similar to the H292 model, we observed outgrowth of the control condition (
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20177337.1 | May 2020 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2021/064427 | 5/28/2021 | WO |
