Development of mAb 806

EGFR is a protein found on the surface of brain cancer cells and plays a crucial role in their growth and survival. It’s also present in some normal cells, particularly in the liver and skin. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are now familiar with antibodies. These are naturally occurring proteins in the blood that act like a specific key, designed to"lock" onto one particular target (such as another protein or a sugar) in the body.

We developed an antibody called mAb 806, which targets EGFR. What made our antibody special was that it only bound to EGFR on cancer cells, without affecting the normal EGFR found in healthy liver or skin cells. This unique property allowed us to attach a powerful toxin to mAb 806, creating a treatment that specifically delivered the toxin to cancer cells while sparing healthy organs, thus reducing the side effects.

After securing five patents and publishing 18 research papers on mAb 806, we licensed it to AbbVie, who renamed it ABT-414. AbbVie has advanced this antibody-drug conjugate through to late-stage clinical trial. Recently, they modified the toxin attached to the antibody and are now testing this updated version in ongoing clinical trials.