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Join us on April 28th for our webinar on Fc silencing techniques!

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Registration is open!

Thursday April 28, 2022, 11am ET

Speaker: Ian Wilkinson, PhD

Antibodies are nature’s pro-drugs, wonderfully evolved to target pathogens and activate immune systems. For certain indications where ADCC or CDC are required this is ideal, but for many other applications activation of inflammatory responses is unnecessary and potentially highly undesirable. In these situations silenced antibodies with either naturally low effector function or engineered Fc domains are the preferred option. However, many of the commonly used options in the clinic, such as IgG4, LALA or aglycosylation, are widely reported to still have residual Fc receptor binding and cytokine activation in patients.

This presentation will describe the first thorough comparison of most of the generic and proprietary Fc silencing mutations, demonstrating that all previously reported variants show residual binding to Fc receptors. It will also describe the discovery of a novel set of mutations, known as STR, that show no detectable binding to Fcγ receptors and do not elicit inflammatory cytokine responses. Meanwhile, immunogenicity, stability and PK are unaffected. This totally silenced variant has the potential to improve the safety and efficacy of therapeutic antibodies and Fc fusion proteins.

FDA approves anti-LAG-3 relatlimab-rmbw as part of a combination therapy for melanoma

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On March 18, 2022, Bristol Myers Squibb announced that Opdualag a fixed-dose combination of anti-PD-1 nivolumab and relatlimab-rmbw, administered as a single intravenous infusion, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age or older with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

Relatlimab (BMS-986016, ONO4482) is a human IgG4k antibody that targets LAG-3, which, like PD-1, is an immune checkpoint. Bristol Myers Squibb and Ono have a strategic collaboration agreement to jointly develop and commercialize multiple immunotherapies – as single agents and combination regimens – for patients with cancer in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. An marketing authorization application is undergoing evaluation by the European Medicines Agency.

FDA’s approval was based on data from the Phase 2/3 RELATIVITY-047 trial (NCT03470922), which evaluated the effects of relatlimab combined with nivolumab versus nivolumab in a total of 714 patients with previously untreated metastatic or unresectable melanoma. Patients were randomized 1:1 and administered a fixed-dose combination of 160 mg relatlimab and 480 mg nivolumab or 480 mg nivolumab by intravenous infusion every 4 weeks until disease recurrence, unacceptable toxicity or withdrawal of consent. The study’s primary endpoint, progression-free survival (PFS) by blinded independent central review, was met. The median PFS in the group that received both relatlimab and nivolumab (n=355) was significantly longer (10.1 months [95% CI, 6.4–15.7]) than in the group that received nivolumab only (4.6 months [95% CI, 3.4–5.6]; hazard ratio: 0.75 [95% CI, 0.6–0.9]; P = 0.0055). [1]

1. Tawbi HA, Schadendorf D, Lipson EJ, et al. Relatlimab and nivolumab versus nivolumab in untreated advanced melanoma. N Engl J Med. 2022;386:24-34.

Opdualag is the 4th antibody-based therapeutic granted a first approval for marketing in the EU or US in 2022. Explore our searchable table of antibody therapeutics approved in the EU or US for details.

The 2022 Science Writing Competition is open!

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Attention Student & Post-doc members:
The 2022 Science Writing Competition is open!

Clear, concise communication is essential to make your science accessible. The Antibody Society is offering you a chance to grow this skill through a Science Writing Competition. For examples, view winning essays from the 2021 Science Writing Competition.

We invite you to submit an essay of 1200 – 1500 words on a topic related to antibody research. Feel free to use an eye-catching self-generated high-resolution graphic (jpg format) to help make your main point. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:

Antibody engineering
Antibody therapeutics
Fc effector function and neutralization
Bispecific antibodies
Antibody-drug conjugates
Adaptive immune receptor repertoires

The winning essays are featured on The Antibody Society’s website and winners receive a $400 cash prize.

Two winners (1 student, 1 post-doc) will be selected by our panel of judges based on the originality, creativity, clarity, and structure of their essays.

Send your essay to membership@antibodysociety.org as a Word document. The first 30 submissions will be considered for the competition. Please include your contact details and whether you are a student or post-doc in your email.

Submission deadline: May 1, 2022
Essays should be written for a general reader. Guidance on effective scientific writing can be found here and here.

Entry is limited to The Antibody Society student and post-doc members. Additional information can be found here.

Not a member? Membership is free for students and post-docs – register here!

FDA issues emergency use authorization for bebtelovimab

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On February 11, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for bebtelovimab (LY-CoV1404), an anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody that demonstrates neutralization against the Omicron variant. Bebtelovimab targets the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein receptor binding domain. The EUA was issued to Eli Lilly and Co.

The EUA for bebtelovimab is supported by clinical and nonclinical data. The clinical data are from a Phase 2, randomized, single-dose clinical trial (NCT04634409) evaluating the efficacy of bebtelovimab alone and bebtelovimab combined with other monoclonal antibodies for treating mild to moderate COVID-19.

Bebtelovimab is authorized for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kg) with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death, and for whom alternative COVID-19 treatment options approved or authorized by FDA are not accessible or clinically appropriate. The authorized dose of bebtelovimab is 175 mg given as an intravenous injection over at least 30 seconds. A fact sheet for health care providers with additional information about bebtelovimab can be found here.

As previously announced, Lilly signed an agreement with the U.S. government to supply up to 600,000 doses of investigational drug bebtelovimab for at least $720 million.

FDA approves Enjaymo (sutimlimab-jome) for cold agglutinin disease

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On February 4, 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Enjaymo (sutimlimab-jome) infusion to decrease the need for red blood cell transfusion due to hemolysis in adults with cold agglutinin disease (CAD). This rare autoimmune disorder is characterized by hemolysis caused by activation of the classic complement pathway. Sponsored by Sanofi, sutimlimab is a hinge-stabilized, humanized IgG4k antibody that targets and inhibits complement component 1s (C1s). A mutation in the Fc region (L235E) reduces the effector functions of the antibody. Sutimlimab received FDA’s Breakthrough Therapy and Orphan Drug designations for CAD, and Orphan Drug designation in the EU for this indication.

The BLA was based on data from the CARDINAL open-label, single-arm study (NCT03347396), which enrolled 24 adult patients with CAD who received a recent blood transfusion. All participants received Enjaymo for up to six months and could choose to continue therapy in a second part of the trial. Based on body weight, participants received either a 6.5 g or 7.5 g infusion of Enjaymo on day 0, day 7, and every 14 days through week 25. In total, 54% of participants responded to Enjaymo. In this study, sutimlimab administration rapidly halted hemolysis, increased hemoglobin levels, and reduced fatigue.

The European Medicines Agency has accepted the submission of a Marketing Authorisation Application for sutimlimab.

Enjaymo is the 3rd antibody-based therapeutic granted a first approval for marketing in the EU or US in 2022. Explore our searchable table of antibody therapeutics approved in the EU or US for details.