Bispecific antibody constructs represent an innovative immunotherapy approach that helps the body’s immune system target cancer cells. Bispecific antibodies have two arms, one arm of the drug attaches to a specific protein on the cancer cell. The other arm activates immune cells in the patient to kill the cancer cells
BI 764532, a novel DLL3-targeting T-cell bispecific developed by Boehringer Ingelheim has shown clinically manageable side effects in an ongoing phase 1 clinical trial in patients with DLL3-positive small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC).1,2
About Small Cell Lung Cancer
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 234,000 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer and 160,000 die from the disease every year, making it the leading cause of cancer death. SCLC primarily is associated with smoking and accounts for about 10 to 15 percent of all lung cancers. The survival for most SCLC patients is less than a year and there have been no recent advances in its treatment.
About BI 764532
The DLL3 ligand is greatly expressed on the cell surface of both SCLC and NEC cancers making it a promising target. One arm of the BI 764532 bispecific antibody targets DLL3 and the other arm binds to CD3 cell surface antigens, thereby redirecting immune T cells to the cancer and inducing cell death.
As of March 2023 57 patients with SCLC, with a median age of 60 years of age, and 31% having been treated with 3 or more prior therapies were enrolled in a trail evaluating BI 764532. Initial trial results released at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.Researchers reported an overall response rate of 25% with the median duration of response not having been reached.
References
- Wermke M, Felip E, Kuboki Y, et al. First-in-human dose-escalation trial of BI 764532, a delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3)/CD3 IgG-like T-cell engager in patients (pts) with DLL3-positive (DLL3+) small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC). J Clin Oncol. 2023;41(suppl 16):8502. doi:10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.8502
- A study to test different doses of BI 764532 in patients with small cell lung cancer and other neuroendocrine tumours that are positive for Delta-Like Ligand 3 (DLL3). ClinicalTrials.gov. Updated May 16, 2023. Accessed June 4, 2023. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04429087
