Harnessing Long-Lived Bispecific Antibodies for T Cell-Mediated Elimination of Myeloma Cells: A Promising Approach for Multiple Myeloma Therapy

CD38 is a protein that is found in high amounts on cancer cells in multiple myeloma (MM), making it a good target for new treatments. There are a few anti-CD38 antibodies being tested, like daratumumab, but they have a limitation because they don't help immune cells called T cells kill the cancer cells very well. To get around this, scientists have made special antibodies that are two-in-one, they can bring T cells to the cancer cells and help them kill them. These special antibodies work even if the T cells don't normally recognize the cancer cells.

The researchers made a bunch of these two-in-one antibodies and tested how well they worked in a lab. They picked the best ones, called XmAb13243 and XmAb13551, which are really good at sticking to CD38 and CD3, which are important for T cells. These antibodies worked very well in tests where they helped T cells kill cancer cells.

Unlike other two-in-one antibodies, these ones last a long time in animals and are easy to make. They also don't stick to other parts of the immune system that they shouldn't, which is good because it stops them from causing problems where they aren't needed.

The researchers tested these antibodies in mice and monkeys and found that they worked really well. They helped T cells kill the cancer cells and stopped the cancer from growing. The antibodies were much better than other treatments that are being tested.

The scientists think that these two-in-one antibodies could be a good way to treat multiple myeloma and other cancers that have a lot of CD38. They are planning to test them in people soon.

The people who worked on this study all work for a company called Xencor, and they own shares in the company.