ATTACK, a novel bispecific T cell-recruiting antibody with trivalent EGFR binding and monovalent CD3 binding for cancer immunotherapy

Abstract

The redirection of T cell activity using bispecific antibodies is one of the most promising cancer immunotherapy approaches currently in development, but it is limited by cytokine storm-related toxicities, as well as the pharmacokinetics and tumor-penetrating capabilities of current bispecific antibody formats. Here, we have engineered the ATTACK (<i>Asymmetric Tandem Trimerbody for T cell Activation and Cancer Killing</i>), a novel T cell-recruiting bispecific antibody which combines three EGFR-binding single-domain antibodies (V_HH; clone EgA1) with a single CD3-binding single-chain variable fragment (scFv; clone OKT3) in an intermediate molecular weight package. The two specificities are oriented in opposite directions in order to simultaneously engage cancer cells and T cell effectors, and thereby promote immunological synapse formation. EgA1 ATTACK was expressed as a homogenous, non-aggregating, soluble protein by mammalian cells and demonstrated an enhanced binding to EGFR, but not CD3, when compared to the previously characterized tandem bispecific antibody which has one EgA1 V_HH and one OKT3 scFv per molecule. EgA1 ATTACK induced synapse formation and early signaling pathways downstream of TCR engagement at lower concentrations than the tandem V_HH-scFv bispecific antibody. Furthermore, it demonstrated extremely potent, dose-dependent cytotoxicity when retargeting human T cells towards EGFR-expressing cells, with an efficacy over 15-fold higher than that of the tandem V_HH-scFv bispecific antibody. These results suggest that the ATTACK is an ideal format for the development of the next-generation of T cell-redirecting bispecific antibodies.