Hematology

Leukemia is one of the leading journals in hematology and oncology. It is published monthly and covers all aspects of the research and treatment of leukemia and allied diseases.

Amphivena Therapeutics Inc. licensed Affimed N.V.'s tetravalent antibody-mimetic technology two years ago to create blood cancer therapeutics that would be simpler to use and safer than CAR T cell therapies. Now, the start-up has presented data on AMV-564, its lead preclinical compound, and shown the compound activates T cell-mediated cytotoxicity in cell-based and mouse models of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML).

The compound targets CD3 receptors on T cells and CD33 antigens on AML cells, and is based on Affimed's TandAb (tandem diabody) platform. The platform involves fusing two heavy and two light chain variable domains from different mAbs, which forces the molecules to fold into a structure resembling four beads on a string. (See Figure: Fourbeading)

RT @PiescheM: How to train your T cell: Genetically engineered #CART cells vs #BiTE in B-cell #ALL http://t.co/PbUpbuLwuk #bioengineering

Antigen-specific T cell–based immunotherapy is getting its day in the sun. The contemporaneous development of two potent CD19-specific immunotherapeutic modalities for the treatment of B-cell malignancies provides exciting opportunities for patients, physicians and scientists alike. Patients with relapsed, refractory or poor-risk B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) previously had few therapeutic options and now have two potential new lifelines. Physicians will have the choice between two powerful modalities and indeed could potentially enroll some patients on trials exploring both modalities if needed. For scientists interested in tumor immunology, the advent of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy and of bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs) provides unprecedented opportunities to explore the promise and limitations of antigen-specific T-cell therapy in the context of human leukemia. In this article, we compare chimeric antigen receptor T cells and BiTEs targeting CD19 in B-cell ALL in the setting of the available clinical literature.