XGFR*, a novel affinity-matured bispecific antibody targeting IGF-1R and EGFR with combined signaling inhibition and enhanced immune activation for the treatment of pancreatic cancer

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) play critical roles in tumor growth, providing a strong rationale for the combined inhibition of IGF-1R and EGFR signaling in cancer therapy. We describe the design, affinity maturation, in vitro and in vivo characterization of the bispecific anti-IGF-1R/EGFR antibody XGFR*. XGFR* is based on the bispecific IgG antibody XGFR, which enabled heterodimerization of an IGF-1R binding scFab heavy chain with an EGFR-binding light and heavy chain by the “knobs-into-holes” technology. XGFR* is optimized for monovalent binding of human EGFR and IGF-1R with increased binding affinity for IGF-1R due to affinity maturation and highly improved protein stability to oxidative and thermal stress. It bears an afucosylated Fc-portion for optimal induction of antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). Stable Chinese hamster ovary cell clones with production yields of 2–3 g/L were generated, allowing for large scale production of the bispecific antibody. XGFR* potently inhibits EGFR- and IGF-1R-dependent receptor phosphorylation, reduces tumor cell proliferation in cells with heterogeneous levels of IGF-1R and EGFR receptor expression and induces strong ADCC in vitro. A comparison of pancreatic and colorectal cancer lines demonstrated superior responsiveness to XGFR*-mediated signaling and tumor growth inhibition in pancreatic cancers that frequently show a high degree of IGF-1R/EGFR co-expression. XGFR* showed potent anti-tumoral efficacy in the orthotopic MiaPaCa-2 pancreatic xenograft model, resulting in nearly complete tumor growth inhibition with significant number of tumor remissions. In summary, the bispecific anti-IGF-1R/EGFR antibody XGFR* combines potent signaling and tumor growth inhibition with enhanced ADCC induction and represents a clinical development candidate for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.