Science

Bispecific & Multi-Specific Antibodies

Therapeutic antibodies remain one of the most attractive modalities for the development of new cancer therapies.

Nearly half of products in terms of sales are therapies based on the use of antibody-based therapies.

The last two decades have seen the rapid development of new technologies in particular new approaches known as immunotherapy, which consists of mobilizing the patient’s immune system against cancer cells. 
The discovery and development of the first monoclonal antibodies in oncology, which are antibodies designed to target one or several receptors on the surface of tumor cells in a very specific way, marked a real turning point in the development of new cancer treatments, leading to the development of some of the pharmaceutical industry’s most important blockbusters.

The rise of bispecific and multi-specific antibody therapeutics

After the first wave of the immunotherapy revolution (immune checkpoint inhibitors), the second wave of this revolution has seen the increased use of bispecific and multi-specific antibodies, to engage two or more antigens at once, and this has been reinforced by recent advances in antibody engineering.

Bispecific or multi-specific antibodies open the way to :

Superior potency through co-modulation of two targets
Novel mechanisms of action by bridging two cell types (immune-cell engagers such as T-cell or MAIT engagers)
Mechanistic synergies such as activation and co-stimulation of immune cells,
Simultaneous targeting of multiple immune checkpoint receptors.
Spatial synergy: neutralize two cytokines in the same place at the same time or engage two targets co-expressed within a specific microenvironment
Increased specificity and potency by binding two or more disease-specific targets.

Two main therapeutic approaches currently dominate the application of bispecific antibodies in the immuno-oncology field :

Dual targeting of two different receptors in order to co-inhibit redundant or alternative signaling pathways and limit their impact on the development of a pathology or cancer.
Immune cell engagers: Simultaneous Bridging of an immune effector cell and a tumor cell, via a tumor associated antigen, leading to directed cytotoxicity and cancer cell death.

Biomunex expertise based on bispecific and multi-specific antibodies.

Biomunex is using its best-in-class BiXAb® bispecific and multi-specific antibody platform technologies to discover and develop innovative new medicines for the treatment of cancer.

Capitalizing on the advantages of dual binding to two different targets, Biomunex is applying this to investigate new drug modalities such as their first-in-class MAIT engagers and the new wave of bispecific antibody drug conjugates. 

In addition, several collaborations with AI companies have been established, such as with Gordion Bioscience and Tangramed Biotech, two AI-driven biotech companies, but also other AI specialized companies able to bring added value. Biomunex is notably using AI to identify novel target combinations where the BiXAb platform can be used to rapidly generate and test innovative drug concepts, but is also applying AI tools to several other aspects of discovery.