Genetic Engineering in the Press by GEG

Bispecific monoclonal antibodies have begun to emerge as a treatment of interest for malignancies, but to date their use in practice has been limited to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), leukemia, and hemophilia. However, this may soon change as investigative efforts on these agents are rapidly increasing and they may soon be available to treat a wide range of hematologic and solid cancers. Three FDA-approved bispecific monoclonal antibodies are already available: blinatumomab (Blincyto), which targets CD19 and CD3 in patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia; amivantamab-vmjw (Rybrevant), which targets EGF and MET receptors in adults with NSCLC ; and emicizumab-kxwh (Hemlibra) for patients with hemophilia. Data to date show that all of these agents produce impressive overall and/or complete response rates, some of which are comparable to approved CAR T therapies. Moreover, they do so without high rates of grade 3 or higher cytokine release syndrome (CRS), an adverse event common to CAR T cell therapy and antibody therapies.