UCL developes new humanised antibodies to treat cancer

UCLB has been working closely with Professor Kerry Chester and her colleagues from the UCL Cancer Institute to support the development of new humanised antibodies with potential to treat  cancer.

In a collaboration enabled by UCLB, Professor Chester will work with scientists from the Therapeutic Antibody Group at MRC Technology (MRCT) to develop humanised forms of antibodies against the promising cancer targets carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and the alpha-v-beta-6 integrin.

CEA is present on a high proportion of colorectal cancers and other cancers of the gastrointestinal tract whilst alpha-v-beta-6 is present on various cancers, including pancreatic, oral, cervical and ovarian cancer, where it appears to have a role in the growth of malignant tumours.

The project is benefitting from access to MRCT's considerable expertise and experience in antibody engineering where murine antibodies can be transformed into humanised drug-like molecules. Once humanised, the antibody is significantly less likely to be recognized by the patient's own immune system, preventing it from being cleared too quickly and maximising its therapeutic effect on cancer cells. Current work supported by the Debbie Fund aims to validate the therapeutic potential of these antibodies in cervical cancer.

"We are absolutely delighted with progress of this project," said Kerry Chester, the project's lead investigator. "This generation of humanised antibodies in collaboration with MRCT brings us a significant step closer to a new treatment for patients with cervical cancers".

These antibodies are being commercialised in collaboration with Cancer Research Technology, the technology transfer organisation of Cancer Research UK.