Curia's Hybridoma-Based Antibody Discovery To Support CAR-T Development

Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy has emerged as a groundbreaking approach in treating hematological malignancies and shows significant potential for combating solid tumors. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two CD19-targeting CAR-T cell therapies: tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah™, Novartis) for leukemia (August 2017) and lymphoma (May 2018) and axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta™, Kite Pharma) for lymphoma (October 2017). These approvals mark pivotal milestones in the advancement of CAR-T therapies. Currently, nearly 1,000 clinical trials are underway globally, reflecting the robust interest in harnessing CAR-T cells to address a wide range of cancers (Fig. 1).

To drive the development of next-generation CARs, the identification and engineering of novel monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with high affinity and specificity for tumor-associated antigens are crucial. Here, we highlight the discovery of a diverse and potent repertoire of fully human mAbs targeting two promising tumor antigens, underscoring their potential to enhance the efficacy and applicability of CAR-T cell therapies in diverse cancer types.