Mabwell, an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company with a fully integrated industry chain, has announced that the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China has cleared the clinical trial application for its innovative LILRB4/CD3 targeting T Cell Engager (TCE) bispecific antibody, for the treatment of hematologic malignancies, including acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) and multiple myeloma (MM).
6MW5311 is the first LILRB4/CD3 targeting TCE drug candidate globally to receive clinical trial approval. Previously, it received FDA clearance for the clinical trial application.
6MW5311 is developed based on Mabwell’s TCE technology platform and features a “2+1” asymmetric molecular structure. It simultaneously targets LILRB4 and CD3, forming an immunological synapse by bridging tumour cells and T cells, thereby activating T cells to efficiently kill tumours.
The molecule incorporates a unique steric hindrance design. This structure significantly reduces the binding activity of the CD3 antibody to T cells in the absence of tumour cells. T cells are specifically activated only when tumour cells are present, which substantially enhances safety while improving anti-tumour efficacy.
In vitro studies have demonstrated that 6MW5311 exhibits potent cytotoxic activity across multiple tumour cell lines and patient-derived samples. In vivo pharmacodynamic studies have shown that 6MW5311 achieves significant tumour inhibition in both LILRB4-high and LILRB4-low expressing AML tumour models. Notably, it achieved complete tumour clearance in high-expression models. Furthermore, 6MW5311 demonstrated a favourable safety profile in cynomolgus monkey safety evaluation models.
As a key technological approach for directly mobilising T cells to kill tumours, TCE has shown significant clinical value in various lymphoma indications, with multiple products successfully launched. However, current treatments for AML and CMML primarily remain primarily limited to chemotherapy, haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and targeted therapies for specific mutations; no TCE products have been approved for these indications to date.
