Abstract 5320: The RenMice™ HiTS (Hyperimmune target specific) Platform facilitates identification of novel therapeutic antibodies for challenging targets

Abstract

Abstract In recent years, an increasing number of therapeutic antibodies have shown to be effective for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. However, limitations in the traditional discovery process, including immune tolerance of highly homologous genes, challenges with antibody sequence humanization, clone selection, and model selection for drug efficacy and safety evaluation, often hinder the process of identifying new therapeutic antibodies. The RenMice™ HiTS (Hyperimmune Target Specific) Platform is a library of chromosome engineered mice with fully human immunoglobulin variable domains replacing the mouse loci, each with a specific drug target gene knocked out. These mice are designed to establish robust immune responses and generate antibodies that bind to more epitopes of the target protein, including conserved domains. The platform is ideal for challenging targets, such as proteins with high homology across species, or multi-pass transmembrane proteins (e.g. GPCRs/ion channels). Here, we show that the platform can be used to generate antibodies that cross-react with multiple species, like human, monkey, dog, and mouse targets, by immunizing with both human and mouse or dog antigen. We provide examples for newer campaigns, including species cross-reactivity and internalization of novel antibodies targeting NECTIN-4, and high-throughput in vivo efficacy screening of novel anti-PD-1 antibodies in wild-type mice. In the future, we will evaluate the preliminary toxicity of these cross-reactive antibodies in preclinical animal models. Thus, selection of the best antibody candidate based on in vivo efficacy and safety allows for a streamlined and successful preclinical phase. In conclusion, the RenMice™ HiTS platform facilitates the generation of developable antibodies that recognize novel epitopes and challenging targets. Citation Format: Xiaoqian Zhang, Shufang Fu, Shujin Zhang, Xin Ji, Li Hui, James Jin, Jing Zhang. The RenMice™ HiTS (Hyperimmune target specific) Platform facilitates identification of novel therapeutic antibodies for challenging targets. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 5320.