Attend a free NIH webinar, attendees will learn about new antibodies developed in Dr. David Fitzgerald’s Lab that bind a particular structure on the external domain of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) which is displayed on cancer cells that express high EGFR levels or the variant termed ‘EGFRvIII’. Importantly, these antibodies do not bind normal cells. Therefore, these antibodies are used to deliver toxic payloads (as antibody-drug conjugates – ADCs) to cancer cells without killing normal cells. Additionally, these antibodies are superior to currently approved drugs that target this receptor, including ligand-blocking monoclonal antibodies and small molecular weight kinase inhibitors. Further, this presentation will show that tumors expressing high levels of human EGFR experience a significant reduction in size after treatment with several distinct ADCs made in Dr. Fitzgerald’s Lab.
Webinar overview: The presentation will follow a logical sequence of how anti-EGFR antibodies are generated and modified to make them cytotoxic for tumor cells with high levels of EGFR or the variant EGFRvIII; specifically focusing on beginning with a key mouse monoclonal antibody termed ‘40H3’ and then transitioning to the humanization of this antibody to produce the antibody termed ‘A10’. These anti-EGFR antibodies can be used as either independent agents or targeting domains in recombinant immunotoxins (RITs), antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), bispecific antibodies, and chimeric antigen receptors (CARs).