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April 5, 2026Cancer Research1 citations

Abstract 6940: A first-in-class PD-L1/B7-H3/VEGF tri-specific ADC achieves enhanced preclinical antitumor efficacy through direct cytotoxicity, immune checkpoint blockade and VEGF inhibition

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JPJiajia PanPWPengfei WangHHHaixia He

Key Points

  • The aim is to evaluate a novel PD-L1/B7-H3/VEGF tri-specific ADC's efficacy and safety in preclinical settings.
  • Developed ALK208, a tri-specific ADC targeting PD-L1, B7-H3, and VEGF with a topoisomerase I inhibitor.
  • Optimized linker-payload design and drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR) for enhanced safety and efficacy.
  • Conducted functional assays to assess binding, internalization, and cytotoxicity in various tumor models.
  • ALK208 showed comparable binding affinity to monospecific antibodies targeting PD-L1, B7-H3, and VEGF.
  • In preclinical studies, it demonstrated more potent cytotoxicity in double-positive tumor cells compared to monospecific ADCs.
  • ALK208 maintained a favorable safety profile, not affecting activated T cells or antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in vitro.

Abstract

Abstract PD-L1 is an established immunotherapy target highly expressed in various solid tumors, while B7-H3 is another extensively investigated target overexpressed on a wide range of tumor cells. ADCs targeting PD-L1 or B7-H3 have entered clinical development and shown promising efficacy. PD-L1-directed ADCs may combine direct cytotoxicity and immunotherapy, demonstrating antitumor activity even in PD-L1-negative patients. However, ADC-related toxicity may limit their clinical dosing and thus restrict the full immune-mediated effects. Meanwhile, VEGF/PD-(L)1 bispecific antibodies are emerging as next-generation immunotherapies, with multiple trials exploring their combination with ADCs. Here, we developed ALK208, a trispecific ADC targeting PD-L1, B7-H3, and VEGF, conjugated to a topoisomerase I inhibitor payload. It is designed to integrate direct tumor cell killing, immune checkpoint blockade, and anti-angiogenic activity for maximal antitumor efficacy. Through optimized linker-payload design and DAR, ALK208 exhibited an improved safety profile, enabling higher dose levels to support robust PD-L1 blockade and VEGF neutralization. In preclinical studies, ALK208 simultaneously bound B7-H3, PD-L1, and VEGF with affinity comparable to monospecific antibodies. It effectively blocked VEGF/VEGFR and PD-1/PD-L1 interactions in reporter assays. Concurrent binding of B7-H3 and PD-L1 enhanced cellular binding and internalization in B7-H3/PD-L1 double-positive tumor cells, leading to more potent cytotoxicity than monospecific ADCs. VEGF-mediated crosslinking further strengthened binding, internalization, and cell-killing activity compared to a PD-L1/B7-H3 bispecific ADC. In the presence of VEGF homodimer, ALK208 also showed enhanced PD-L1 blockade in functional assays. Importantly, it did not kill activated T cells or APCs in vitro, suggesting a favorable immune safety profile. In xenograft models, ALK208 outperformed clinical-stage PD-L1 and PD-L1/B7-H3 ADCs. In summary, ALK208 is a first-in-class PD-L1/B7-H3/VEGF trispecific ADC that integrates multiple complementary mechanisms to maximize antitumor efficacy while maintaining a promising safety profile. Citation Format: Jiajia Pan, Pengfei Wang, Hongwang He, Mengfan Peng, Meng Cheng, Jie Zhang, Chengyi Ju, Jun Wang, Li Li, Hui Feng, . A first-in-class PD-L1/B7-H3/VEGF tri-specific ADC achieves enhanced preclinical antitumor efficacy through direct cytotoxicity, immune checkpoint blockade and VEGF inhibition abstract. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2026; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2026 Apr 17-22; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2026;86(7 Suppl):Abstract nr 6940.

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Pan et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69d1fd62a79560c99a0a36e6https://doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.am2026-6940
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