Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research

(New York, January 26) — Antibodies that selectively bind and destroy cancer cells represent some of the most promising cancer therapy approaches being developed today. Several of these antibodies have reached the market, including cetuximab (Erbitux®, ImClone Systems), which targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) protein. However, a study conducted at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Ludwig Center at Dana-Farber/Harvard Medical School now suggests that antibodies binding a particular protein conformation, caused by hyperactivation, might have distinct therapeutic advantages over antibodies, like cetuximab, that bind to wild-type (normal) target proteins.

The study, led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Dr. Kwok-Kin Wong, and published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, is part of a multi-center, international effort to assess the clinical potential of the 806 antibody. The 806 antibody was discovered by scientists at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. The antibody targets EGFR only when the receptor has been activated by mutations, by the protein’s over-expression or by amplification of the EGFR gene. In the present study, Dr. Wong compared the action of cetuximab and 806 in a mouse model of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) caused by different activating mutations in EGFR.. The 806 antibody caused a dramatic tumor regression in the mice, while cetuximab did not.

“Cetuximab only works on a subset of patients with lung cancers,” says Wong. “We think the 806 antibody might benefit those patients who respond to cetuximab but, more importantly, might also be effective for those patients who don’t.” According to Dr. Wong, approximately 10-30 percent of patients with NSCLC and 5 percent of patients with squamous cell lung cancers have EGFR activating mutations. Some brain tumors also have EGFR activating mutations that are – in animal studies – responsive to the 806 antibody. A phase I clinical trial of the 806 antibody has been completed in Melbourne, Australia by the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research co-authors. The antibody was shown to target a variety of cancers, including squamous cell lung cancer, with no targeting of normal tissues and no toxicity.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (www.dana-farber.org) is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.

The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) is the largest international not-for-profit institute dedicated to understanding and controlling cancer. With nine Research Branches and one Centre for Clinical Sciences in seven countries, the scientific network that is LICR quite literally spans the globe. LICR has developed an impressive portfolio of reagents, knowledge, expertise, and intellectual property, and has also assembled the personnel, facilities, and practices necessary to patent, clinically evaluate, license, and thus translate, the most promising aspects of its own laboratory research into cancer therapies.

For further details, contact:

Dr. Sarah White, LICR Director of Communications
swhite@licr.org
+1 212 450 1543 (Business hours, New York: UTC/GMT -5 hours)
+1 917 974 7952 (After hours, New York)