Bispecific antibody against cd3 and cd20 in combination therapy for treating follicular lymphoma

Abstract

Provided are methods of clinical treatment of follicular lymphoma (for example, relapsed and/or refractory follicular lymphoma) in human subjects using a bispecific antibody which binds to CD3 and CD20 in combination with standard of care regimens of rituximab and bendamustine.

1 . A method of treating follicular lymphoma in a human subject, the method comprising administering to the subject a bispecific antibody and an effective amount of rituximab and bendamustine, wherein the bispecific antibody comprises:
 (i) a first binding arm comprising a first antigen-binding region which binds to human CD3ε (epsilon) and comprises a variable heavy chain (VH) region and a variable light chain (VL) region, wherein the VH region comprises the CDR1, CDR2 and CDR3 sequences that are in the VH region sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6, and the VL region comprises the CDR1, CDR2 and CDR3 sequences that are in the VL region sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7; and   (ii) a second binding arm comprising a second antigen-binding region which binds to human CD20 and comprises a VH region and a VL region, wherein the VH region comprises the CDR1, CDR2 and CDR3 sequences that are in the VH region sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13, and the VL region comprises the CDR1, CDR2 and CDR3 sequences that are in the VL region sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14;   wherein the bispecific antibody is administered at a dose of 24 mg or 48 mg, and wherein rituximab, bendamustine, and the bispecific antibody are administered in 28-day cycles.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the bispecific antibody is administered at a dose of 24 mg. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the bispecific antibody is administered at a dose of 48 mg. 
     
     
         4 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 3 , wherein the bispecific antibody is administered once every week (weekly administration). 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the weekly administration of 24 mg or 48 mg is performed for 2.5 28-day cycles. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4  or  5 , wherein after the weekly administration, the bispecific antibody is administered once every two weeks (biweekly administration). 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the biweekly administration is performed for six 28-day cycles. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6  or  7 , wherein after the biweekly administration, the bispecific antibody is administered once every four weeks. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the administration once every four weeks is performed for up to two years total duration of treatment with the bispecific antibody from initiation of rituximab and bendamustine. 
     
     
         10 . The method of any one of  claims 4 - 9 , wherein prior to the weekly administration of 24 mg or 48 mg, a priming dose of the bispecific antibody is administered in cycle 1 of the 28-day cycles. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the priming dose is administered two weeks prior to administering the first weekly dose of 24 mg or 48 mg. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  or  11 , wherein the priming dose is 0.16 mg. 
     
     
         13 . The method of any one of  claims 10 - 12 , wherein after administering the priming dose and prior to administering the first weekly dose of 24 mg or 48 mg, an intermediate dose of the bispecific antibody is administered. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the priming dose is administered on day 1 and the intermediate dose is administered on day 8 before the first weekly dose of 24 mg or 48 mg on days 15 and 22 of cycle 1. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  or  14 , wherein the intermediate dose is 0.8 mg. 
     
     
         16 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 15 , wherein rituximab is administered once every four weeks. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the administration of rituximab once every four weeks is performed for six 28-day cycles. 
     
     
         18 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 17 , wherein rituximab is administered at a dose of 375 mg/m 2 . 
     
     
         19 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 18 , wherein bendamustine is administered once a day from day 1 to day 2 of the 28-day cycles. 
     
     
         20 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 19 , wherein bendamustine is administered once a day from day 1 to day 2 for six 28-day cycles. 
     
     
         21 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 20 , wherein bendamustine is administered at a dose of 90 mg/m 2 . 
     
     
         22 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 21 , wherein rituximab, bendamustine, and the bispecific antibody are administered on the same day (e.g., on days 1 of cycles 1-6). 
     
     
         23 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 22 , wherein the dosing schedule for the bispecific antibody, rituximab, and bendamustine is as shown in Table 2. 
     
     
         24 . The method of any one of  claims 1 ,  2 , and  4 - 23 , wherein administration is performed in 28-day cycles, and wherein:
 (a) the bispecific antibody is administered as follows:
 (i) in cycle 1, a priming dose of 0.16 mg is administered on day 1, an intermediate dose of 0.8 mg is administered on day 8, and a dose of 24 mg is administered on days 15 and 22; 
 (ii) in cycles 2 and 3, a dose of 24 mg is administered on days 1, 8, 15, and 22; 
 (iii) in cycles 4-9, a dose of 24 mg is administered on days 1 and 15; and 
 (iv) in cycle 10 and subsequent cycles, a dose of 24 mg is administered on day 1; 
   (b) rituximab is administered on day 1 in cycles 1-6; and   (c) bendamustine is administered on days 1 and 2 in cycles 1-6.   
     
     
         25 . The method of any one of  claims 1  and  3 - 24 , wherein administration is performed in 28-day cycles, and wherein:
 (a) the bispecific antibody is administered as follows:
 (i) in cycle 1, a priming dose of 0.16 mg is administered on day 1, an intermediate dose of 0.8 mg is administered on day 8, and a dose of 48 mg is administered on days 15 and 22; 
 (ii) in cycles 2 and 3, a dose of 48 mg is administered on days 1, 8, 15, and 22; 
 (iii) in cycles 4-9, a dose of 48 mg is administered on days 1 and 15; and 
 (iv) in cycle 10 and subsequent cycles, a dose of 48 mg is administered on day 1; 
 
 (b) rituximab is administered on day 1 in cycles 1-6; and 
 (c) bendamustine is administered on days 1 and 2 in cycles 1-6. 
 
     
     
         26 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 25 , wherein the bispecific antibody is administered subcutaneously. 
     
     
         27 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 26 , wherein rituximab is administered intravenously. 
     
     
         28 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 27 , wherein bendamustine is administered intravenously. 
     
     
         29 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 28 , wherein the bispecific antibody, rituximab, and bendamustine are administered sequentially. 
     
     
         30 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 29 , wherein:
 (a) rituximab is administered before the bispecific antibody if rituximab and the bispecific antibody are administered on the same day (e.g., day 1 of cycles 1-6);   (b) bendamustine is administered before the bispecific antibody if bendamustine and the bispecific antibody are administered on the same day (e.g., day 1 of cycles 1-6);   (c) rituximab is administered before bendamustine if rituximab and bendamustine are administered on the same day (e.g., day 1 of cycles 1-6); or   (d) rituximab is administered first, bendamustine is administered second, and the bispecific antibody is administered last if rituximab, bendamustine, and the bispecific antibody are administered on the same day (e.g., day 1 of cycles 1-6).   
     
     
         31 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 30 , wherein the follicular lymphoma is previously untreated follicular lymphoma. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the subject has grade 1, 2, or 3a untreated follicular lymphoma. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 31  or  32 , wherein the subject has Stage II, III, or IV untreated follicular lymphoma. 
     
     
         34 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 33 , wherein:
 (i) the first antigen-binding region of the bispecific antibody comprises VHCDR1, VHCDR2, and VHCDR3 comprising the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and VLCDR1, VLCDR2, and VLCDR3 comprising the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4, the sequence GTN, and SEQ ID NO: 5, respectively; and   (ii) the second antigen-binding region of the bispecific antibody comprises VHCDR1, VHCDR2, and VHCDR3 comprising the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 8, 9, and 10, respectively, and VLCDR1, VLCDR2, and VLCDR3 comprising the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO: 11, the sequence DAS, and SEQ ID NO: 12, respectively.   
     
     
         35 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 34 , wherein:
 (i) the first antigen-binding region of the bispecific antibody comprises a VH region comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6, and the VL region comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7; and   (ii) the second antigen-binding region of the bispecific antibody comprises a VH region comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13, and the VL region comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14.   
     
     
         36 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 35 , wherein the first binding arm of the bispecific antibody is derived from a humanized antibody, preferably from a full-length IgG1,κ (lambda) antibody. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the first binding arm of the bispecific antibody comprises a λ light chain constant region comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 22. 
     
     
         38 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 37 , wherein the second binding arm of the bispecific antibody is derived from a human antibody, preferably from a full-length IgG1,κ(kappa) antibody. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein the second binding arm comprises a κ light chain constant region comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 23. 
     
     
         40 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 39 , wherein the bispecific antibody is a full-length antibody with a human IgG1 constant region. 
     
     
         41 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 40 , wherein the bispecific antibody comprises an inert Fc region. 
     
     
         42 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 41 , wherein the bispecific antibody comprises a first heavy chain and a second heavy chain, wherein in both the first and second heavy chains, the amino acids in the positions corresponding to positions L234, L235, and D265 in the human IgG1 heavy chain constant region of SEQ ID NO: 15 are F, E, and A, respectively. 
     
     
         43 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 42 , wherein the bispecific antibody comprises a first heavy chain and a second heavy chain, wherein in the first heavy chain, the amino acid in the position corresponding to F405 in the human IgG1 heavy chain constant region of SEQ ID NO: 15 is L, and wherein in the second heavy chain, the amino acid in the position corresponding to K409 in the human IgG1 heavy chain constant region of SEQ ID NO: 15 is R, or vice versa. 
     
     
         44 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 43 , wherein the bispecific antibody comprises a first heavy chain and a second heavy chain, wherein
 (i) in both the first and second heavy chains, the amino acids in the positions corresponding to positions L234, L235, and D265 in the human IgG1 heavy chain constant region of SEQ ID NO: 15 are F, E, and A, respectively, and   (ii) in the first heavy chain, the amino acid in the position corresponding to F405 in the human IgG1 heavy chain constant region of SEQ ID NO: 15 is L, and wherein in the second heavy chain, the amino acid in the position corresponding to K409 in the human IgG1 heavy chain constant region of SEQ ID NO: 15 is R, or vice versa.   
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 44 , wherein the bispecific antibody comprises heavy chain constant regions comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 19 and 20. 
     
     
         46 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 45 , wherein the bispecific antibody comprises a heavy chain and a light chain comprising the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 24 and 25, respectively, and a heavy chain and a light chain comprising the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 26 and 27, respectively. 
     
     
         47 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 46 , wherein the bispecific antibody comprises a heavy chain and a light chain consisting of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NOs: 24 and 25, respectively, and a heavy chain and a light chain consisting of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NOs: 26 and 27, respectively. 
     
     
         48 . The method of any one of  claims 1 - 47 , wherein the bispecific antibody is epcoritamab, or a biosimilar thereof.