Technology & Products

CD73 highly expressed cancers, such as lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer and ovarian cancer.

1. Targeting tumor cells expressing CD73 and activating the CD137 signaling pathway on T cells to enhance T cell activity, thereby inducing activated T cells to kill cancer cells within the tumor microenvironment.
2. Inhibiting CD73 activity on tumors to prevent the generation of the immunosuppressive factor adenosine.

1. Completion of functionality validation by cell-based assay and animal model.
2. Ongoing CMC manufacturing, pharmacokinetics studies, and toxicology research for AP601.
3. Undergoing patent reviews in multiple countries.

1.     A true target-dependent T cell activation of the bispecific antibody, it activates cytotoxic T cells expressing CD137 only upon binding with both CD137 and CD73 on cancer cells. This design minimizes the risk of cytokine release syndrome typically associated with CD3-based bispecific antibodies, ensuring higher safety levels.

2.      The bivalent binding activity of AP601 to both CD73 and CD137 is superior to monovalent binding of other bispecific antibodies. AP601 can efficiently trigger CD137  activation in T cells through CD73 clustering.

3.     The oppositely binding regions of CD73 and CD137 facilitate the bridging between CD73-expressing cancer cells and CD137-expressing T cells without spatial hindrance.

4.     There is no hook effect for CD73 binding domain in AP601, providing a better dose-response relationship.

5.     The symmetrical structure expressing only heavy and light chains is advantageous for antibody expression and formation. It can be adapted the downstream purification processes established for monoclonal antibodies, eliminating the need to develop new processes for asymmetric bispecific antibodies.

In the tumor microenvironment, the high expression of CD73 leads to the abundant production of adenosine, which in turn suppresses the activation of immune cells. Therefore, the strategy of inhibiting CD73 activity through CD73 antibodies is a major focus of current drug development. In clinical practice, it can be used in combination with existing cancer therapies to enhance the effectiveness of current treatments. APBio independently developed AP601 is an emerging bispecific antibody based on the T-cube bispecific antibody platform. It can simultaneously recognize CD73, inhibit CD73 activity, and activate the CD137 pathway through a triple mechanism. This enhances the killing effect of T cells or NK cells in the tumor microenvironment, ultimately leading to the elimination of tumor cells. In the future, AP601 is expected to compete in the multi-billion-dollar drug markets for various solid tumors, including lung cancer ($23.14 billion in 2022), pancreatic cancer ($2.01 billion in 2017), bladder cancer ($2 billion in 2021), ovarian cancer ($1.68 billion in 2021), and others.