Poor penetration of mAbs in solid tumors is explained, in part, by the binding site barrier hypothesis. Following extravasation, mAbs rapidly bind cellular antigens, leading to the observation that, at subsaturating doses, therapeutic antibody in solid tumors localizes around tumor vasculature. Here we report a unique strategy to overcome the binding site barrier through transient competitive inhibition of antibody–antigen binding. The anti-trastuzumab single domain antibody 1HE was identified through in vitro binding assays as a model inhibitor. Coadministration of 1HE did not alter the plasma pharmacokinetics of trastuzumab or ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) in vivo. Administration of 1HE alone was rapidly eliminated with a terminal plasma half-life of 1.2 hours, while coadministrations of 1HE with trastuzumab had a terminal half-life of 56 hours. In mice harboring SKOV3 xenografts, coadministration of 1HE with trastuzumab led to significant increases in both penetration of trastuzumab from vasculature and the percentage of tumor area that stained positive for trastuzumab. 1HE coadministered with a single dose of T-DM1 to NCI-N87 xenograft–bearing mice significantly enhanced T-DM1 efficacy, increasing median survival. These results support the hypothesis that transient competitive inhibition can improve therapeutic antibody distribution in solid tumors and enhance antibody efficacy.

This study describes the development of a transient competitive inhibition strategy that enhances the tumor penetration and efficacy of anticancer antibodies.

See related commentary by van Dongen, p. 3956