Antibody-maytansinoid conjugates for the treatment of myeloma

Despite recent advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma, new agents are still needed to improve the outcome for patients. The established success of monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of some cancers has promoted interest in developing antibody-based therapies for multiple myeloma. Efforts have included the development of antibodies conjugated to potent cytotoxic moieties that combine the specificity of anti-myeloma-targeting antibodies with highly active anti-tumor compounds. Two such immunoconjugates currently in clinical development are composed of antibodies that target cell surface proteins found on multiple myeloma cells, and are coupled to cytotoxic maytansinoids. IMGN901 targets the neural cell adhesion molecule, CD56, which is expressed on the majority of myeloma cells, as well as on other cancers, while BT062 targets CD138, a primary diagnostic marker for multiple myeloma. In this review, we discuss the preclinical and early clinical data for these two promising new antibody-based anti-myeloma agents.Key words: cancer, myeloma, antibody, immunoconjugate, CD56, CD138, maytansinoid, IMGN901, BT062