Milatuzumab

CD74

CD74 is present on a variety of hematological tumors and even on some solid cancers. It is present in limited amounts in normal tissues but widely found in leukemias, lymphomas and the vast majority of multiple myeloma cases. CD74 is involved in a cell-to-cell communication pathway that is critical for survival. When CD74 is blocked by milatuzumab, it can lead to cell death.

CD74 is an attractive target for a drug conjugate because of its rapid internalizing property.

In preclinical studies with human lymphomas and myelomas, both naked Milatuzumab and the Milatuzumab conjugated with doxorubicin, an antibody-drug conjugate or ADC, have demonstrated anti-lymphoma activity in-vivo.

IMMU-110

hLL1-Dox

Milatuzumab has been linked to doxorubicin to form an antibody-drug conjugate or ADC (known as hLL1-Dox or IMMU-110) for treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma. A phase I/II clinical trial has started (in 2010). This open-label, multi-center Phase I/II study aims to evaluate the safety and tolerability of milatuzumab-doxorubicin conjugate in patients with recurrent or refractory multiple myeloma, and to obtain preliminary information on efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and immunogenicity. The ADC will be administered intravenously on days 1, 4, 8, & 11 every 21 days for up to 8 treatment cycles. Four different dose levels of the doxorubicin conjugate of milatuzumab will be studied in groups of 3-6 patients. Once an optimal dose has been found, up to an additional 30 patients will be studied at that dose level. The study is due to complete in July 2013 As of June 2016 no results seem to have been published or announced.