MONDAY, AUGUST 19 | 12:00 – 3:00 PM

SC1: The Making of Bispecific Antibodies

Roland E. Kontermann, PhD, Professor, Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology, Stuttgart Research Center Systems Biology, University of Stuttgart

Oliver Seifert, PhD, Senior Scientist, Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology, University of Stuttgart

Course Description:

The concept of using bispecific antibodies for tumor therapy has been developed more than 30 years ago, although initially with limited success. New developments in the field of antibody engineering have led to next generation bispecific antibodies and a revival of these molecules for tumor therapy. Currently, more than 100 different bispecific antibody formats have been described, including many IgG and IgG-like molecules but also a plethora of small molecules, and more than 50 bispecific antibodies are currently in clinical trials. The workshop will provide an overview of the various bispecific antibody formats and discuss the advantages and disadvantages for therapeutic applications, including dual-targeting strategies in cancer therapy and the treatment of inflammatory and infectious diseases.

Topics to be Covered:

• Overview of bispecific antibody formats
• Bivalent and tetravalent formats
• Fc heterodimerization strategies
• Fab arm heterodimerization strategies
• Applications of bispecific antibodies
• Dual targeting strategies
• T-cell retargeting

Meet the instructors:

Roland E. Kontermann, PhD, Professor, Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology, Stuttgart Research Center Systems Biology, University of Stuttgart

Roland Kontermann received his PhD in molecular biology from the University of Heidelberg in 1992. From 1993-1996 he was a postdoctoral research fellow in Sir Gregory Winter’s laboratory at the MRC Centre for Protein Engineering in Cambridge (UK) where he started his work in the field of recombinant antibodies and phage display technology. From 1996-2000 he was a group leader at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Tumor Research (IMT) at the University of Marburg, where he also obtained his habilitation in molecular biology. Between 2001 and 2004 he was head of biotechnology and later on head of research of a co-founded Biotech company working in the field of targeted drug delivery systems. In 2004 he was appointed Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology (University of Stuttgart), endowed until 2014 by the Deutsche Krebshilfe. Current research interests focus on the development of recombinant antibodies and bispecific and bifunctional antibody fusion proteins with improved biological and pharmacokinetic properties for cancer therapy and other indications.

Oliver Seifert, PhD, Postdoc, Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology, University of Stuttgart

Oliver Seifert holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Stuttgart and he is a Post-Doc at the Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology based at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. Research interests focus on the design and development of bi- and multispecific antibodies as well as of recombinant bifunctional fusion proteins, including half-life extension strategies, for cancer therapy.