AbCellera Expands Collaboration with AbbVie to Develop Novel T-Cell Engagers for Oncology
AbCellera has announced an expansion of its collaboration with AbbVie to include the development of T-cell engagers (TCEs) for oncology, leveraging AbCellera’s T-cell Engager platform.
AbCellera's TCE platform was specifically developed to address limitations in efficacy and safety, widening the therapeutic window for T-cell engagers through novel CD3-binding antibodies. These antibodies are designed to enhance potency while reducing dose-limiting toxicities by lowering cytokine release. Additionally, AbCellera’s TCE platform incorporates building blocks to engage costimulatory receptors, such as CD28 and 4-1BB, which can enhance T-cell activation for solid tumor treatments. By expanding the accessible target space, including highly specific MHC-peptide complexes, the platform aims to deliver new cancer therapies for difficult-to-treat indications.
Under the agreement, AbCellera will lead discovery efforts, while AbbVie will oversee development and commercialization. The collaboration builds on a December 2022 agreement where the companies partnered to advance antibody therapies across multiple indications, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, and metabolic disorders.
This latest development highlights AbCellera's progress in enhancing its role in oncology, while contributing to AbbVie’s focus on advancing T-cell-engaging therapies. On the same day, AbbVie announced a $1 billion partnership with Simcere to develop a trispecific T-cell engager (SIM0500) targeting relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The Simcere deal focuses on a Phase 1 trispecific antibody targeting GPRC5D, BCMA, and CD3.
AbCellera's current pipeline (Source: AbCellera)
AbCellera is advancing a pipeline aimed at addressing unmet medical needs across autoimmunity, metabolic, and endocrine conditions. Clinical trial applications for its first two preclinical programs, ABCL575 and ABCL635, are expected in 2025, coinciding with the company's planned launch of clinical manufacturing capabilities in a 124,000-square-foot GMP facility. ABCL635 targets a transmembrane protein associated with metabolic and endocrine conditions, while ABCL575 is focused on T-cell-mediated autoimmune conditions, including atopic dermatitis, using a non-T cell depleting mechanism to modulate inflammation.
