Dr. Wong on a Trial With an Anti-CD46 Antibody in Myeloma

Sandy Wong, MD, assistant professor, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine, discusses a trial with an anti-CD46 antibody in multiple myeloma.

The anti-CD46 antibody is a homegrown compound that was initially studied in a prostate cancer lab at UCSF, explains Wong. Thomas Martin, MD, and Jeffrey Wolf, MD, of UCSF, began studying it in myeloma and has since shown preclinical efficacy. The drug is an antibody against CD46 that is conjugated to the toxin, MMAE, says Wong. By attaching to the surface of CD46, it is internalized by the cell, causing cell death.

CD46 is highly expressed in patients with myeloma, and those who have gain of chromosome 1q as a cytogenetic abnormality have an even higher expression of CD46. In the preclinical studies presented at a prior ASH Annual Meeting, the antibody showed very little efficacy in mice given as a naked antibody, notes Wong. However, when it is given with an antibody that is conjugated to the toxin, the mice survive. Physicians at UCSF are planning a phase I first-in-human trial that is expected to open in the spring of 2019.