BioCentury
ARTICLE | Product R&D

Bispecific redirection

How MPM is staking ground in next-gen BiTEs

June 22, 2017 10:32 PM UTC

With an unusual spinout from a startup and BiTE pioneer Patrick Baeuerle on board, MPM Capital is using his next-generation technology to stake new territory in the field. Through Harpoon Therapeutics Inc. and the recently launched Maverick Therapeutics Inc., the firm is backing the idea that three-pronged antibody-like constructs can outdo their predecessors via better serum half-life and a tissue-penetration that reaches into solid tumors.

Both companies were formed on the idea -- now validated in the clinic through Blincyto blinatumomab -- that creating a physical bridge between T cells and tumor cells increases the antitumor response. Blincyto was the first compound from Micromet Inc.’s Bispecific T-cell Engager (BiTE) platform, created by Baeuerle and developed by Amgen Inc. after its 2012 Micromet acquisition. The drug was approved in 2014 for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)...