Abstract 5623: Development of a CD47-blocking antibody as a cancer therapy

Immune system avoidance by cancer cells is controlled through a variety of mechanisms such as CTLA-4 and PD-1/L1, which inhibit the T-cell mediated adaptive immune response to cancer. Similar mechanisms exist for evasion from innate immunity, for example, through CD47 overexpression. On healthy cells, CD47 serves as a “don9t eat me” signal by the binding to the transmembrane SIRPα protein on phagocytic cells, and prevents the engulfment of “self” by macrophages. In several cancer types, tumor cells overexpress CD47 to elude the immune system. This property of CD47 makes it an attractive target for cancer treatment. Here we describe a humanized monoclonal antibody that is a potent disruptor of the CD47/SIRPα interaction and therefore presents itself as a potential therapeutic anti-CD47 antibody. This antibody binds robustly to recombinant extracellular domains (ECD) of human and cynomolgus CD47, and to full-length human and cynomolgus CD47 expressed on HEK293 cells. Functionally, it blocks the CD47/SIRPα interaction in an ELISA-based assay with an IC50 of single-digit nM. In a cell-based assay, effect on phagocytosis by this antibody was assessed. In addition, disruption of the TSP-1/CD47 interaction has been postulated to have positive outcomes in cancer therapy and the efficacy of this antibody on inhibiting this interaction is also investigated. Finally, the effect of the antibody on Raji human Burkitt9s lymphoma xenograft growth in mice will be presented. A concern with anti-CD47 therapy is the undesired targeting of red blood cells (RBCs). This antibody does not induce marked hemagglutination, suggesting a limited impact on RBCs. Taken together, our data suggest that we have developed a novel, humanized anti-CD47 antibody that can restore immune system targeting of cancer cells without inducing significant RBC agglutination. Citation Format: Joshua Oaks, Ming Wang, Hui Zou. Development of a CD47-blocking antibody as a cancer therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5623.