Abstract 1482: Anti-GPC3 TRAB, a first-in-class T cell-redirecting bispecific antibody targeting glypican-3 with potent in vitro and in vivo antitumor efficacy against solid tumors
Authors: Kinoshita Yasuko , Ishiguro Takahiro , Sano Yuji , Azuma Yumiko , Tsunenari Toshiaki , Ono Natsuki , Kayukawa Yoko , Ueda Otoya , Wada Naoko A. , Hino Hiroshi , Jishage Koichi , Shiraiwa Hirotake , Kamata-Sakurai Mika , Nezu Junichi , Endo Mika 
Published: July 2016

We present efficacy data for the T cell-redirecting antibody (TRAB) with highly potent anti-tumor efficacy. Anti-Glypican-3 (GPC3) TRAB is a humanized IgG4 bispecific antibody that simultaneously binds to GPC3 on the cancer cell surface and to CD3 on the T cell surface. Anti-GPC3 TRAB utilizes T cells as effectors to induce strong TRAB dependent cellular cytotoxicity (TDCC) in the presence of GPC3-expressing cells. Treatment with anti-GPC3 TRAB first activates T cells by increasing the expression of CD25 and CD69 and also upregulating cytokines IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL 10, IFNγ, and TNF, and then it enhances the proliferation of T cells. Anti-GPC3 TRAB showed antitumor activity against xenograft tumors derived from various cancer types — MKN-74 (human gastric adenocarcinoma), PC-10 (human lung squamous cell carcinoma), TOV-21G (human ovarian clear cell carcinoma), and KYSE70 (human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma) — in a NOD-SCID mouse model injected with human T cells. Although recent immunotherapy, as represented by immune check point inhibitors PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4 antibodies, showed promising efficacy in human, not every patient can benefit from this immunotherapy, because the significant efficacy shown in patients by a blockade of immune checkpoints is closely related to the tumor microenvironment. The immune check point inhibitors show high efficacy against inflamed tumors, because these have been sufficiently infiltrated by cytotoxic T cells that recognize cancer-specific antigens. However, they do not have efficacy against non inflamed tumors. In an immunocompetent mouse model using human CD3 transgenic mice, neither the inhibitors that block immune checkpoints (such as PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4) nor a conventional ADCC antibody recognizing GPC3 could show significant efficacy against a poorly immunogenic LLC1/hGPC3 tumor. However, anti-GPC3 TRAB showed efficacy against this poorly immunogenic tumor by utilizing any kind of T cell as effectors irrespective of TCR specificity, including not only CD8-positive but also CD4-positive T cells.

The studies we present show that anti-GPC3 TRAB is a promising drug with high efficacy utilizing all kinds of T cells as effectors. The compound is expected to have efficacy even in patients with poorly immunogenic tumors, in which an immune checkpoint blockade fails to show efficacy.

Citation Format: Yasuko Kinoshita, Takahiro Ishiguro, Yuji Sano, Yumiko Azuma, Toshiaki Tsunenari, Natsuki Ono, Yoko Kayukawa, Otoya Ueda, Naoko A. Wada, Hiroshi Hino, Koichi Jishage, Hirotake Shiraiwa, Mika Kamata-Sakurai, Junichi Nezu, Mika Endo. Anti-GPC3 TRAB, a first-in-class T cell-redirecting bispecific antibody targeting glypican-3 with potent in vitro and in vivo antitumor efficacy against solid tumors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1482.