Levena BioPharma, San Diego, California.
Sorrento Therapeutics Inc., San Diego, California.
Cancer Res Commun. 2024 Oct 1;4(10):2660-2672. doi: 10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-24-0413.
Treatment for patients with multiple myeloma has experienced rapid development and improvement in recent years; however, patients continue to experience relapse, and multiple myeloma remains largely incurable. B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) has been widely recognized as a promising target for treatment of multiple myeloma due to its exclusive expression in B-cell linage cells and its critical role in the growth and survival of malignant plasma cells. Here, we introduce STI-8811, a BCMA-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) linked to an auristatin-derived duostatin payload via an enzymatically cleavable peptide linker, using our proprietary C-lock technology. STI-8811 exhibits target-specific binding activity and rapid internalization, leading to G2/M cell-cycle arrest, caspase 3/7 activation, and apoptosis in BCMA-expressing tumor cells in vitro. Soluble BCMA (sBCMA) is shed by multiple myeloma cells into the blood and increases with disease progression, competing for ADC binding and reducing its efficacy. We report enhanced cytotoxic activity in the presence of high levels of sBCMA compared with a belantamab mafodotin biosimilar (J6M0-mcMMAF). STI-8811 demonstrated greater in vivo activity than J6M0-mcMMAF in solid and disseminated multiple myeloma models, including tumor models with low BCMA expression and/or in large solid tumors representing soft-tissue plasmacytomas. In cynomolgus monkeys, STI-8811 was well tolerated, with toxicities consistent with other BCMA-targeting ADCs with auristatin payloads in clinical studies. STI-8811 has the potential to outperform current clinical candidates with lower toxicity and higher activity under conditions found in patients with advanced disease. Significance: STI-8811 is a BCMA-targeting ADC carrying a potent auristatin derivative. We report unique binding properties which maintain potent cytotoxic activity under sBCMA-high conditions that hinder the clinical efficacy of current BCMA-targeting ADC candidates. Beyond disseminated models of multiple myeloma, we observed efficacy in solid tumor models of plasmacytomas with low and heterogenous BCMA expressions at a magnitude and duration of response exceeding that of clinical comparators.
近年来,多发性骨髓瘤患者的治疗取得了快速发展和改善;然而,患者仍会复发,多发性骨髓瘤仍然基本上无法治愈。B 细胞成熟抗原(BCMA)因其在 B 细胞谱系细胞中的特异性表达及其在恶性浆细胞生长和存活中的关键作用,已被广泛认为是治疗多发性骨髓瘤的有前途的靶点。在这里,我们介绍了 STI-8811,这是一种通过酶切肽接头与来自 auristatin 的 duostatin 有效载荷连接的靶向 BCMA 的抗体药物偶联物(ADC),使用我们专有的 C-lock 技术。STI-8811 在体外表现出针对靶标的特异性结合活性和快速内化,导致表达 BCMA 的肿瘤细胞的 G2/M 细胞周期停滞、半胱天冬酶 3/7 激活和凋亡。可溶性 BCMA(sBCMA)由多发性骨髓瘤细胞分泌到血液中,并随疾病进展而增加,与 ADC 竞争结合并降低其疗效。我们报告说,与 belantamab mafodotin 类似物(J6M0-mcMMAF)相比,在存在高水平 sBCMA 的情况下,细胞毒性活性增强。STI-8811 在实体和播散性多发性骨髓瘤模型中表现出比 J6M0-mcMMAF 更高的体内活性,包括低 BCMA 表达的肿瘤模型和/或代表软组织浆细胞瘤的大实体肿瘤模型。在食蟹猴中,STI-8811 耐受性良好,毒性与临床研究中具有 auristatin 有效载荷的其他靶向 BCMA 的 ADC 一致。STI-8811 有可能在毒性更低和活性更高的情况下优于目前的临床候选药物,并且在晚期疾病患者中具有更高的活性。意义:STI-8811 是一种靶向 BCMA 的 ADC,携带一种有效的 auristatin 衍生物。我们报告了独特的结合特性,在阻碍当前靶向 BCMA 的 ADC 候选药物临床疗效的 sBCMA 高条件下,保持了强大的细胞毒性活性。除了多发性骨髓瘤的播散模型外,我们还观察到在表达水平低且异质的浆细胞瘤实体瘤模型中具有疗效,其反应程度和持续时间超过了临床对照药物。