BioCentury
ARTICLE | Distillery Therapeutics

Therapeutics: Wilms tumor 1 (WT1); CD3e molecule epsilon (CD3-TCR complex)(CD3ε; CD3E)

October 22, 2015 7:00 AM UTC

Cell culture and mouse studies suggest a bispecific T cell engager (BiTE) antibody targeting WT1 and CD3ε could help treat cancer and leukemia. The BiTE consisted of ESK1 - which is a T cell receptor (TCR)-mimicking mAb against WT1 - fused to a mAb against human CD3ε. In co-cultures of patient-derived ovarian cancer cells and peripheral blood monocytes, the anti-WT1/CD3ε BiTE increased monocyte proliferation and cancer cell death compared with a BiTE composed of the anti-CD3ε mAb and a control IgG1. In mouse xenograft models of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and mesothelioma, the anti-WT1/CD3ε BiTE plus human T cells decreased tumor growth and increased survival compared with the control BiTE plus T cells. Next steps in collaboration with Novartis AG include testing BiTEs containing other TCR-mimicking mAbs to treat cancer...