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Araris' site-specific conjugation technology is improving the safety and efficacy of ADCs without antibody engineering. Our technology is using transglutaminase for site-specific enzymatic payload conjugation to ‘off-the-shelf' antibodies, i.e., without the need to reduce or engineer the antibody. The functionalization takes place site-specifically and stoichiometrically (drug-to-antibody ratio, DAR = 2) at the glutamine residue Q295 in the Fc-part of antibodies. The resulting ADCs show favorable biophysical properties such as high solubility and stability. Additionally, initial data show that linker conjugation does not interfere with Fc-gamma receptor and FcRn binding. Using native polatuzumab (non-engineered, same antibody sequence as present in approved polatuzumab-vedotin) as the targeting antibody and monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) as payload, we generated within 24 hours highly homogeneous and pure ADCs with a well-defined DAR of 1.9 (LC-MS). Size exclusion chromatography analysis showed a highly monomeric ADC product (> 96% monomer content) that remained stable under stressed conditions at elevated temperatures. In in-vitro assays our ADCs demonstrated potent cytotoxicity in four tested cell-lines, similar to the approved polatuzumab-vedotin (Polivy®). Moreover, our anti-CD79b ADC (termed ARC-01) is highly stable in mouse, cynomolgus and human sera and is resistant to mouse Ces1c cleavage but is cleaved by the lysosomal human Cathepsin B. Most importantly, the resulting ADC is extremely stable as shown in pharmacokinetic studies in mice demonstrating a very long exposure comparable to the unmodified polatuzumab antibody and twice as long as the approved polatuzumab-vedotin (half-life 10d vs 5d). Most importantly, the in vivo efficacy of our ARC-01 (DAR 1.9) as compared with approved polatuzumab-vedotin (DAR 3.5) was assessed in the Granta-519 tumor model. Animals received a single injection of 0.53 or 2.1 mg/kg polatuzumab-vedotin (Polivy®) and either 0.53, 1 or 2.1 mg/kg of ARC-01. ARC-01 provided equal tumor growth inhibition and survival at about half the payload dose relative to polatuzumab-vedotin (comparison of the 2mg/kg doses and 0.53 mg/kg doses). At an approximately equal payload dose, ARC-01 treatment led to a greater antitumor efficacy and a considerable survival advantage with 6/8 complete tumor remissions over polatuzumab-vedotin with 0/8 complete tumor remission (comparison of the 0.53mg/kg dose of polatuzumab-vedotin and 1mg/kg dose of ARC-01). These encouraging results obtained so far indicate that our linker technology a) allows for fast (< 24 hours) and straightforward manufacturing of ADCs without protein engineering efforts, b) results in ADCs with favorable biophysical properties and a clear defined drug-to-antibody ratio, and c) enables the generation of highly potent and stable, thus safer, next-generation ADCs. Citation Format: Philipp René Spycher, Philipp Probst, Romain Bertrand, Ramona Stark, Roger Santimaria, Dragan Grabulovski, Isabella Attinger-Toller. CD79b targeting ADC with superior pharmacokinetic profile and anti-tumor activity [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 1842.

Biologic treatment options such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. Recent data suggest, however, that full and long-lasting responses to TNF inhibitors are limited because of the activation of the pro-inflammatory TH17/interleukin (IL)-17 pathway in patients. Therefore, dual TNF/IL-17A inhibition is an attractive avenue to achieve superior efficacy levels in such diseases. Based on the marketed anti-TNF antibody adalimumab, we generated the bispecific TNF/IL-17A-binding FynomAb COVA322. FynomAbs are fusion proteins of an antibody and a Fyn SH3-derived binding protein. COVA322 was characterized in detail and showed a remarkable ability to inhibit TNF and IL-17A in vitro and in vivo. Through its unique mode-of-action of inhibiting simultaneously TNF and the IL-17A homodimer, COVA322 represents a promising drug candidate for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. COVA322 is currently being tested in a Phase 1b/2a study in psoriasis ( ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02243787).

Upregulation of HER2 is a hallmark of 20% to 30% of invasive breast cancers, rendering this receptor an attractive target for cancer therapy. Although HER2-targeting agents have provided substantial clinical benefit as cancer therapeutics, there is a need for the development of new agents aiming at circumventing anti-HER2 resistance. On the basis of the approved antibody pertuzumab, we have created a panel of bispecific FynomAbs, which target two epitopes on HER2. FynomAbs are fusion proteins of an antibody and a Fyn SH3–derived binding protein. One bispecific FynomAb, COVA208, was characterized in detail and showed a remarkable ability to induce rapid HER2 internalization and apoptosis in vitro. Moreover, it elicited a strong inhibition of downstream HER2 signaling by reducing HER2, HER3, and EGFR levels in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, COVA208 demonstrated superior activity in four different xenograft models as compared with the approved antibodies trastuzumab and pertuzumab. The bispecific FynomAb COVA208 has the potential to enhance the clinical efficacy and expand the scope of HER2-directed therapies, and delineates a paradigm for designing a new class of antibody-based therapeutics for other receptor targets. Mol Cancer Ther; 13(8); 2030–9. ©2014 AACR.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive blood cancer with neoplastic infiltration of leukemic blasts in blood, bone marrow and viscera. Current treatment options have limited efficacy, and the 5-year survival rate is only 27%. CD3 bispecific antibodies that re-direct T cells towards the tumor have shown promising efficacy in hematological malignancies. The CD3/CD19 bispecific antibody blinatumomab has recently been approved by the FDA for the treatment of B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) (Kantarjian H et al (2017) NEJM). We evaluated COVA4231, a CD3/CD33 bispecific FynomAb, preclinically as therapeutic candidate for AML. CD33 is a cell surface receptor expressed on blasts of the majority of AML patients (Walter RB (2014) Expert Opin Ther Targets). COVA4231 was constructed by fusing the CD33-specific Fynomer D5 - a small (7 kDa) globular protein derived from the human Fyn SH3 domain with engineered affinity for CD33 - to a CD3-specific antibody with a novel silent IgG1 Fc. COVA4231 induced T cell activation and cytokine release in a CD33-dependent manner, and elicited potent T cell mediated cytotoxicity of CD33-expressing target cells in vitro with EC50 in the range of 4 - 29 pM (E:T cell ratio of 2:1, KG-1 or MOLM-13 as target cells). COVA4231 showed potent activity against 13 out of 15 primary AML blast samples ex vivo at E:T cell ratio of 1:1. The in vivo efficacy of COVA4231 was investigated in a subcutaneous HL-60 leukemia xenograft model in NSG mice in the presence of human T cells. COVA4231 was highly active across a wide dose range (0.05 - 5 mg/kg) and prevented tumor outgrowth in all treated mice. COVA4231 demonstrated an IgG1-like pharmacokinetic profile in mice with a terminal half-life 15.8 days (total drug), providing the opportunity to avoid continuous intravenous infusion protocols required for established CD3 bispecific formats (e.g. (scFv)2). In conclusion, COVA4231 is a highly active therapeutic candidate in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo, has IgG-like pharmacokinetics and is a promising therapeutic candidate for further preclinical and clinical development. Citation Format: Kristina Klupsch, Vanessa Baeriswyl, Roland Scholz, Joana Dannenberg, Roger Santimaria, David Senn, Elena Kage, Adrian Zumsteg, Isabella Attinger-Toller, Ulrike von der Bey, Susann König-Friedrich, Fanny Dupuy, Wibke Lembke, Clara Albani, Severin Wendelspiess, Lucijana Dinkel, Chelsea J. Gudgeon, Roland B. Walter, Julian Bertschinger, Simon Brack. COVA4231, a potent CD3/CD33 bispecific FynomAb with IgG-like pharmacokinetics for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1787.

Upregulation of HER2 is a hallmark of 20% to 30% of invasive breast cancers, rendering this receptor an attractive target for cancer therapy. Although HER2 targeting agents have provided substantial clinical benefit as cancer therapeutics, there is a need for the development of new agents aiming at circumventing anti-HER2 resistance. Fynomers are small 7 kDa globular proteins derived from the SH3 domain of the human Fyn kinase (Fyn SH3) that can be engineered to bind with antibody-like affinity and specificity to virtually any target of choice. Fynomers can be fused to N-terminal and/or C-terminal ends of antibodies to generate multispecific therapeutics (FynomAbs) with tailored architectures. FynomAbs can be produced using standard antibody technology (GMP production yield of 3.3 g/L at 1000 L scale achieved), and show IgG-like biophysical properties and pharmacokinetic profiles. Based on the approved antibody pertuzumab we have created a panel of bispecific FynomAbs which target two epitopes on HER2. The activity of the HER2 targeting FynomAbs was found to depend on the FynomAb architecture, i.e. the spatial arrangement of the binding sites of antibody and the Fynomer. The most potent of these FynomAbs, termed COVA208, demonstrated superior tumor cell growth inhibition in vitro compared to pertuzumab and trastuzumab. COVA208 was characterized in detail and showed an increased ability to induce rapid HER2-internalization and apoptosis in vitro. Moreover, it elicited a stronger inhibition of downstream HER2 signaling which was accompanied by a reduction of HER2, HER3 and EGFR levels in vitro and in vivo. The therapeutic potential of COVA208 has been demonstrated in vivo in four different HER2 mouse models, where COVA208 exhibited excellent anti-tumor activity. Importantly, COVA208 demonstrated superior activity in vivo compared to trastuzumab and pertuzumab. The bispecific FynomAb COVA208 has the potential to enhance the clinical efficacy and expand the scope of HER2-directed therapies, and delineates a paradigm for designing a new class of antibody-based therapeutics for other receptor targets. Citation Format: Babette Schade, Simon Brack, Isabella Attinger-Toller, Kristina Klupsch, Richard Woods, Helen Hachemi, Ulrike von der Bey, Susann Koönig-Friedrich, Julian Bertschinger, Dragan Grabulovski. A bispecific HER2 targeting FynomAb with superior anti-tumor activity and novel mode of action. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 658. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-658

There is increasing evidence that T cells are able to control tumor growth and increase survival of cancer patients. However, tumor-specific T cell responses are difficult to mount and sustain in cancer patients, and are limited by numerous immune escape mechanisms of tumor cells. A promising approach in the immunotherapy of cancer is to engage T cells to target tumor cells using bispecific therapeutics targeting a tumor-associated surface antigen and CD3e on T cells. Such therapeutics elicit T cell mediated lysis of tumor cells independent of T cell specificity. Fynomers are small 7 kDa globular proteins derived from the SH3 domain of the human Fyn kinase (Fyn SH3) that can be engineered to bind with antibody-like affinity and specificity to virtually any target of choice. Fynomers can be fused to N-terminal and/or C-terminal ends of antibodies to generate multispecific therapeutics (FynomAbs) with tailored architectures. FynomAbs can be produced using standard antibody technology (GMP production yield of 3.3 g/L at 1000 L scale achieved), and show IgG-like biophysical properties and pharmacokinetic profiles. We have generated a novel bispecific FynomAb which can simultaneously bind HER2 on tumor cells and CD3 on T cells. The bispecific HER2/CD3 targeting FynomAb COVA420 potently redirected T cells to HER2 expressing tumor cells showing picomolar tumor cell lysis activity. We present for the first time that a tailored architecture of the FynomAb leads to optimal tumor cell killing properties. The activity of COVA420 was found to be highly specific, as no lysis of cells was observed in the absence of HER2 expression. In addition, COVA420 demonstrated an antibody-like pharmacokinetic profile in mice. We anticipate that the increased half-life of T cell recruiting FynomAbs compared to other bispecific formats translates into a significant benefit for patients, since it circumvents the need for continuous infusion and prolongs the intervals between successive treatments. In summary, bispecific T cell recruiting FynomAbs represent a novel platform technology to redirect T cells to tumor cells with optimal biophysical properties, long-half lives and tailored architectures. Citation Format: Ulrich Wuellner, Fabian Buller, Kristina Klupsch, Simon Brack, Irene Zbinden, Roger Santimaria, Isabella Attinger-Toller, Susann König-Friedrich, Julian Bertschinger, Dragan Grabulovski. A bispecific HER2/CD3 targeting FynomAb with excellent tumor killing and favorable pharmacokinetic properties. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 656. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-656

3066 Background: A promising approach in the immunotherapy of cancer is to recruit T cells to attack tumor cells using bispecific therapeutics targeting a tumor-associated surface antigen and CD3 o...