Multispecific constructs comprising Anti-factor d moiety
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/CN2024/116358
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-09-03
- Filing Date
- 2024-09-02
- Publication Date
- 2025-04-03
AI Technical Summary
Current treatments for complement-mediated diseases, particularly those affecting the eye, face challenges such as high frequency dosing of small molecule antagonists leading to liver toxicities, and inadequate pharmacokinetics of anti-FD biologics.
Development of multispecific constructs comprising an anti-Factor D moiety and an anti-complement component 2 or 5 moiety, which are designed to specifically recognize and inhibit key components of the complement pathway, thereby modulating complement activity and treating complement-dependent ocular pathologies.
The multispecific constructs effectively inhibit complement activation, providing a potential solution for treating complement-mediated diseases with improved safety and efficacy compared to existing treatments.
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Figure CN2024116358_03042025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
MULTISPECIFIC CONSTRUCTS COMPRISING ANTI-FACTOR D MOIETY
[0001] CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0002] This patent application claims priority benefits of International Patent Application No. PCT / CN2023 / 116638 filed on September 3, 2023, and International Patent Application No. PCT / CN2023 / 116639 filed on September 3, 2023, the contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
[0003] REFERENCE TO AN ELECTRONIC SEQUENCE LISTING
[0004] The content of the electronic sequence listing (792252001341SEQLIST. xml; Size: 120, 453 bytes; and Date of Creation: August 29, 2024) is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
[0005] FIELD OF THE APPLICATION
[0006] The present application relates to multispecific constructs, e.g., anti-complement C5 / anti-FD bispecific antibodies, anti-complement C2 / anti-FD bispecific antibodies, nucleic acids encoding such multispecific constructs, and uses thereof including treating complement-mediated diseases or conditions.
[0007] BACKGROUND OF THE APPLICATION
[0008] The complement system is part of innate immunity that plays a key role in host defense. Complement also plays a pathogenic role in human inflammatory diseases. Activation of the complement system occurs via three different pathways, the classical pathway (CP) , the lectin pathway (LP) and the alternative pathway (AP) . The CP is initiated by antigen-antibody binding. The LP is triggered when mannose-binding lectins (MBL) interact with surface sugar molecules on microorganisms. Activation of both pathways leads to the assembly of the CP C3 convertase C4b2a, although direct cleavage of C3 by MBL-associated serine proteases can also occur. The AP is a self-amplification loop driven by the AP C3 convertase, C3bBb. AP activation can occur secondary to CP or LP activation, or is initiated independently. In the latter case, a low level spontaneous C3 “tick-over” generates the initial C3bBb, which rapidly propagates the AP in the absence of adequate regulation. Thus, it is generally assumed that AP activation on non-self surfaces with no or insufficient negative regulation is considered a default process, whereas autologous cells typically avoid this outcome with the help of multiple membrane-bound and fluid phase complement inhibitory proteins. Under certain conditions, altered, damaged, or stressed autologous cells and tissues can also activate AP and cause inflammatory injury.
[0009] Factor D (FD) is an essential enzyme for AP complement activation. It cleaves factor B after the latter is bound to C3b to produce an active C3 convertase, C3bBb. Factor D is a serine protease of approximately 24 kDa in size and it circulates in the blood as a constitutively active enzyme after being generated from pro-factor D by enzymatic action of mannose binding lectin-associated serine protease-3 (MASP-3) . Compared with other complement proteins in blood, the concentration of factor D in blood is rather low (approximately 2 μg / ml) with high turn-over rate. The relative low serum concentration may suggest that therapeutic inhibition of factor D activity in blood is possible, yet the fast turn-over rate of FD presents challenges for sustained inhibition of the enzyme. Small molecule antagonists of FD have been tested in clinical trials and showed good AP inhibition and efficacy. However, the treatment regimen requires high and frequent doses, resulting in reported liver toxicities. Anti-FD biologics for treatment of macular diseases have been evaluated in clinical trials. The anti-FD Fab fragment was administered locally into the vitreous of eyes to maintain good pharmacokinetics of the drug. The clinical trial showed good efficacy in phase II trials but failed to reach primary end points in phase III trials.
[0010] The eye is an immune privileged site due to the presence of surface complement regulators preventing or rapidly shutting down complement activation. The complement system contributes to the immune privilege of the eye through low-level complement turnover within the eye. Conversely, the complement system is suppressed in a healthy cornea to protect it from continuous immunological insult due to its constant exposure to pathogens. Thus, the fine balance between complement activation and suppression is important in maintaining a healthy eye environment. Dysregulation of the complement pathway is a major pathogenic mechanism in various eye disorders, including but not limited to, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) , glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and autoimmune uveitis. Given the role of the complement system in immune homeostasis and immune tolerance in the eye, there is a need in the field for antibodies that can modulate complement activity and thereby treat complement-dependent, ocular pathologies.
[0011] The disclosures of all publications, patents, patent applications and published patent applications referred to herein are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
[0012] BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION
[0013] In one aspect, provided herein is a multispecific construct comprising a first antibody moiety specifically recognizing complement factor D ( “FD” ) and a second antibody moiety specifically recognizing a component of the complement pathway.
[0014] In some embodiments according to the multispecific construct described above, the first antibody moiety specifically recognizing the FD comprises an immunoglobulin heavy chain variable domain ( “VH1” ) and an immunoglobulin light chain variable domain ( “VL1” ) .
[0015] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs described above, the first antibody moiety is an scFv. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus, VH1-optional linker-VL1. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus, VL1-optional linker-VH1.
[0016] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs described above, (i) the VH1 comprising a heavy chain CDR1 ( “H-CDR1” ) comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; a heavy chain CDR2 ( “H-CDR2” ) comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; and a heavy chain CDR3 ( “H-CDR3” ) comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; and (ii) the VL1 comprising a light chain CDR1 ( “L-CDR1” ) comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; a light chain CDR2 ( “L-CDR2” ) comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; and a light chain CDR3 ( “L-CDR3” ) comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) . In some embodiments, (i) the VH1 comprising an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2; and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and (ii) the VL1 comprising an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6.
[0017] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs described above, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 7; and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8.
[0018] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs described above, the first antibody moiety is an scFv comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 or 10.
[0019] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs described above, the second antibody moiety specifically recognizing the component of the complement pathway comprises an immunoglobulin heavy chain variable domain ( “VH2” ) and an immunoglobulin light chain variable domain ( “VL2” ) .
[0020] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs described above, the second antibody moiety is an scFv. In some embodiments, the second antibody moiety comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus, VH2-optional linker-VL2. In some embodiments, the second antibody moiety comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus, VL2-optional linker-VH2.
[0021] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs described above, the component of the complement pathway is complement component 2 ( “C2” ) (hereinafter also referred to as “anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific constructs” ) .
[0022] In some embodiments according to any of the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific constructs described above, (i) the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; and an L- CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; or (ii) the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) . In some embodiments, (i) the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16; or (ii) the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26.
[0023] In some embodiments according to any of the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific constructs described above, (i) the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 17; and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 18; or (ii) the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 27; and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, (i) the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18; or (ii) the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28.
[0024] In some embodiments according to any of the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific constructs described above, the second antibody moiety is an scFv comprising the amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 19, 20, 29, and 30.
[0025] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs comprising a second antibody moiety specifically recognizing a component of the complement pathway described above, the component of the complement pathway is complement component 5 ( “C5” ) (hereinafter also referred to as “anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific constructs” ) .
[0026] In some embodiments according to any of the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific constructs described above, (i) the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; and (ii) the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) ; and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations (e.g., substitutions) . In some embodiments, (i) the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and (ii) the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36.
[0027] In some embodiments according to any of the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific constructs described above, (i) the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 37; and (ii) the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38.
[0028] In some embodiments according to any of the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific constructs described above, the second antibody moiety is an scFv comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39 or 40.
[0029] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs described above, the first antibody moiety is linked directly to the second antibody moiety.
[0030] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs described above, the first antibody moiety is linked to the second antibody moiety via a peptide linker.
[0031] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs described above, the multispecific construct comprises from N-terminus to C-terminus: (i) VH1-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL2; (ii) VL1-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH2; (iii) VH1-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH2; (iv) VL1-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL2; (v) VH2-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL1; (vi) VL2-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL1; (vii) VH2-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH1; or (viii) VL2-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH1.
[0032] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs described above, the multispecific construct comprises the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 42-55, 59-63, 65, 67, 69, 71-75, 77, 78, 81, 82, 85-88, 106, and 108. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 42-50, 63, 67, 71, 73, 77, 81, 85, 87, 106, and 108.
[0033] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs described above, the first antibody moiety is linked to the second antibody moiety via an Fc domain. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41.
[0034] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs in which the first antibody moiety is linked to the second antibody moiety via an Fc domain described above, the multispecific construct comprises from N-terminus to C-terminus: (i) VH1-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL2; (ii) VL1-optional linker-VH1- optional linker -Fc-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH2; (iii) VH1-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH2; (iv) VL1-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL2; (v) VH2-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL1; (vi) VL2-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL1; (vii) VH2-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH1; or (viii) VL2-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH1.
[0035] In some embodiments according to any of the multispecific constructs in which the first antibody moiety is linked to the second antibody moiety via an Fc domain described above, the multispecific construct comprises the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 51-55, 59-62, 65, 69, 72, 74, 75, 78, 82, 86, and 88.
[0036] In another aspect, provided herein is an isolated nucleic acid encoding any of the multispecific constructs described above.
[0037] In another aspect, provided herein is a vector comprising any of the isolated nucleic acids described above. In some embodiments, the vector is a viral vector, such as an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector or a lentiviral vector.
[0038] In another aspect, provided herein is an mRNA comprising any of the nucleic acids described above. In some embodiments, the mRNA is formulated in liposomes or lipid nanoparticle.
[0039] Also provided are pharmaceutical compositions comprising any one of the multispecific constructs described above, any of the isolated nucleic acids described above, any of the vectors described above, or any of the mRNAs described above, and an optional pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
[0040] In another aspect, provided herein is a method of treating a complement-mediated disease in an individual (e.g., human) , comprising administering to the individual an effective amount of any of the pharmaceutical compositions described above. In some embodiments, the complement-mediated disease is an eye disease. In some embodiments, the eye disease is selected from the group selecting of: macular degeneration (MD) , age-related macular degeneration (AMD) , glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, autoimmune uveitis, dry eye disorder, neuromyelitis optica, central retinal vein occlusion, and subcorneal pustular dermatosis. In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition is directly administered to the eye.
[0041] In another aspect, the present invention provides a host cell comprising any of the isolated nucleic acids described above, or any of the vectors described above.
[0042] The present application further provides kits comprising a multispecific construct described herein, nucleic acids encoding thereof, vectors (e.g., viral vector) comprising such nucleic acids, and / or a pharmaceutical composition comprising or encoding the multispecific construct described herein, and a package insert or instructions for using the multispecific construct (or pharmaceutical composition) , nucleic acids, or vectors for treating a complement-mediated disease or condition.
[0043] It is to be understood that one, some, or all of the properties of the various embodiments described herein may be combined to form other embodiments of the present invention.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0044] FIG. 1 depicts an SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions of purified scFvs against FD (42WT) , C2 (3.2GL, 69.44) , or C5 (102-1) .
[0045] FIGs. 2A-2D depicts inhibition of 20%human serum-induced rabbit RBC or sheep RBC lysis by anti-FD (42WT) , anti-C2 (3.2GL, 69.44) , and anti-C5 (102-1) scFvs and their corresponding parental monoclonal antibodies.
[0046] FIG. 3A depicts diagrams of exemplary bispecific scFv molecules with a peptide (e.g., G4S) linker. FIG. 3B depicts diagrams of exemplary bispecific scFv molecules with an Fc linker.
[0047] FIG. 4 depicts an SDS-PAGE imaging of the purified bi-specific 42WT-scFv and 102-1-scFv molecule (αFD / αC5) with a G4S linker (left) , and the purified bispecific 42WT-scFv and 3.2GL-scFv molecule (αFD / αC2) with a G4S linker (right) .
[0048] FIG. 5A depicts the bispecific anti-FD and anti-C5 scFv with G4S linker molecules inhibit sheep RBC lysis (exposed to 20%human serum) . FIG. 5B depicts the bispecific anti-FD and anti-C5 scFv with G4S linker molecules inhibit rabbit RBC lysis (exposed to 20%human serum) . Parental scFvs served as controls.
[0049] FIGs. 6A-6B depict the bispecific anti-FD and anti-C2 scFv with G4S linker molecules inhibit sheep RBC lysis (exposed to 20%human serum) . FIGs. 6C-6D depict the bispecific anti-FD and anti-C2 scFv with G4S linker molecules inhibit rabbit RBC lysis (exposed to 20%human serum) . Parental scFvs served as controls.
[0050] FIGs. 7A-7C depict characterization of G4S-linked bispecific anti-C5 and anti-FD molecules in the modified Wieslab assays in studying inhibition of IgM-or LPS-induced C5b-9 or C3b deposition.
[0051] FIGs. 8A-8E depict characterization of G4S-linked bispecific anti-C2 and anti-FD molecules in the modified Wieslab assays in studying inhibition of IgM-, mannan-, or LPS-induced C5b-9 or C3b deposition.
[0052] FIG. 9A depicts the bispecific anti-FD and anti-C5 with Fc linker molecules inhibit sheep RBC lysis. FIG. 9B depicts the bispecific anti-FD and anti-C5 with Fc linker molecules inhibit rabbit RBC lysis. Parental scFvs served as controls.
[0053] FIGs. 10A-10B depict the bispecific anti-FD and anti-C2 with Fc linker molecules inhibit sheep RBC lysis (exposed to 20%human serum) . FIGs. 10C-10D depict the bispecific anti-FD and anti-C2 with Fc linker molecules inhibit rabbit RBC lysis (exposed to 20%human serum) . Parental scFvs served as controls.
[0054] FIGs. 11A-11B depict the characterization of Fc linked bispecific scFv anti-C5 and anti-FD molecules in the modified Wieslab assays in studying inhibition of IgM-or LPS-induced C5b-9 or C3b deposition.
[0055] FIGs. 12A-12D depict the characterization of Fc-linked bispecific scFv anti-FD and anti-C2 molecules in the modified Wieslab assay in studying inhibition of IgM-, mannan-, or LPS-induced C5b-9 or C3b deposition.
[0056] FIG. 13 depicts the expression titer, purity, IC50 in a sheep red blood cell lysis assay (exposed to 50%human serum) , and IC50 in a rabbit red blood cell assay (exposed to 50%human serum) of G4S-linked bispecific anti-FD (42WT) and anti-C2 (3.2GL, 69.44) scFvs and G4S-linked bispecific anti-FD and anti-C5 (102-1) scFvs.
[0057] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICATION
[0058] The present application provides novel multispecific (e.g., bispecific) molecules that bind to and inhibit both Factor D and a second component of the complement pathway (e.g., C2 or C5) . These multispecific molecules are particularly effective in controlling undesirable, uncontrolled, or excessive complement activation, and are therefore useful for treating complement mediated disorders and diseases, especially eye diseases, including but not limited to, macular degeneration, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and autoimmune uveitis.
[0059] The present application therefore in one aspect provides novel multispecific molecules, wherein the first antibody moiety specifically binds to and inhibits the function of FD and the second antibody moiety specifically binds to a component of the complement pathway.
[0060] In another aspect, there are provided methods of inhibiting complement activation and / or methods of treating complement associated diseases by administering any of the multispecific antibodies or constructs thereof, or nucleic acids or vectors (e.g., viral vector such as AAV) encoding thereof.
[0061] Also provided are novel isolated anti-C5 antibody constructs comprising an antibody moiety specifically recognizing C5 (anti-C5 antibody moiety) , such as multispecific anti-C5 antibody constructs comprising the anti-C5 antibody moiety and an antibody moiety specifically recognizing FD (anti-FD antibody moiety) , and multispecific anti-C5 antibody constructs comprising the anti-C5 antibody moiety fused to a fusion protein partner (acomplement factor H (FH) or functional fragment thereof) . Nucleic acids and vectors (e.g., viral vector such as AAV) encoding thereof are also provided. Further provided are methods of treating a complement-mediated disease in an individual (e.g., human) , comprising administering to the individual an effective amount of the isolated anti-C5 antibody constructs described herein, or nucleic acids or vectors encoding thereof.
[0062] I. Definitions
[0063] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, exemplary methods and materials are described.
[0064] The term “antibody” herein is used in its broadest sense and encompasses various antibody structures, including but not limited to monoclonal antibodies, polyclonal antibodies, multispecific antibodies (e.g., bispecific antibodies) , full-length antibodies and antigen-binding fragments thereof, so long as they exhibit the desired antigen-binding activity. The term “antibody moiety” refers to a full-length antibody or an antigen-binding fragment thereof.
[0065] An “antibody” may refer an immunoglobulin molecule or a fragment thereof which is able to specifically bind to a specific epitope of an antigen (including the basic 4-chain antibody unit) . Antibodies can be intact immunoglobulins derived from natural sources, or from recombinant sources and can be immunoreactive portions of intact immunoglobulins. The antibodies in the present invention may exist in a variety of forms including, for example, polyclonal antibodies, monoclonal antibodies, intracellular antibodies ( “intrabodies” ) , antigen-binding fragments (such as Fv, Fab, Fab’ , F (ab) 2 and F (ab’ ) 2) , as well as single chain antibodies (scFv) , heavy chain antibodies, such as camelid antibodies, and humanized antibodies (Harlow et al., 1999, Using Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, NY; Harlow et al., 1989, Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor, New York; Houston et al., 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85: 5879-5883; Bird et al., 1988, Science 242: 423-426) .
[0066] A full-length antibody comprises two heavy chains and two light chains. The variable regions of the light and heavy chains are responsible for antigen binding. The variable domains of the heavy chain and light chain may be referred to as “VH” and “VL” , respectively. The variable regions in both chains generally contain three highly variable loops called the complementarity determining regions (CDRs) (light chain (LC) CDRs including LC-CDR1, LC-CDR2, and LC-CDR3, heavy chain (HC) CDRs including HC-CDR1, HC-CDR2, and HC-CDR3) . CDR boundaries for the antibodies and antigen-binding fragments disclosed herein may be defined or identified by the conventions of Kabat, Chothia, or Al-Lazikani (Al-Lazikani 1997; Chothia 1985; Chothia 1987; Chothia 1989; Kabat 1987; Kabat 1991) . The three CDRs of the heavy or light chains are interposed between flanking stretches known as framework regions (FRs) , which are more highly conserved than the CDRs and form a scaffold to support the hypervariable loops. The constant regions of the heavy and light chains are not involved in antigen binding, but exhibit various effector functions. Antibodies are assigned to classes based on the amino acid sequence of the constant region of their heavy chain. The five major classes or isotypes of antibodies are IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM, which are characterized by the presence of α, δ, ε, γ, and μ heavy chains, respectively. Several of the major antibody classes are divided into subclasses such as lgG1 (γ1 heavy chain) , lgG2 (γ2 heavy chain) , lgG3 (γ3 heavy chain) , lgG4 (γ4 heavy chain) , lgA1 (α1 heavy chain) , or lgA2 (α2 heavy chain) .
[0067] The term “antigen-binding fragment” as used herein refers to an antibody fragment including, for example, a diabody, a Fab, a Fab’ , a F (ab’ ) 2, an Fv fragment, a disulfide stabilized Fv fragment (dsFv) , a (dsFv) 2, a bispecific dsFv (dsFv-dsFv’ ) , a disulfide stabilized diabody (ds diabody) , a single-chain Fv (scFv) , an scFv dimer (bivalent diabody) , a multispecific antibody formed from a portion of an antibody comprising one or more CDRs, a single domain antibody (sdAb) (e.g., a camelized single domain antibody) , a nanobody, a domain antibody, a bivalent domain antibody, or any other antibody fragment that binds to an antigen but does not comprise a complete antibody structure. An antigen-binding fragment is capable of binding to the same antigen to which the parent antibody or a parent antibody fragment (e.g., a parent scFv) binds. In some embodiments, an antigen-binding fragment may comprise one or more CDRs from a particular human antibody grafted to a framework region from one or more different human antibodies.
[0068] “Fv” is the minimum antibody fragment, which contains a complete antigen-recognition and -binding site. This fragment consists of a dimer of one heavy-and one light-chain variable region domain in tight, non-covalent association. From the folding of these two domains emanate six hypervariable loops (3 loops each from the heavy and light chain) that contribute the amino acid residues for antigen binding and confer antigen binding specificity to the antibody. However, even a single variable domain (or half of an Fv comprising only three CDRs specific for an antigen) has the ability to recognize and bind antigen, although at a lower affinity than the entire binding site.
[0069] “Single-chain Fv, ” also abbreviated as “sFv” or “scFv, ” are antibody fragments that comprise the VH and VL antibody domains connected into a single polypeptide chain. In some embodiments, the scFv polypeptide further comprises a polypeptide linker between the VH and VL domains which enables the scFv to form the desired structure for antigen binding. For a review of scFv, see Plückthun in The Pharmacology of Monoclonal Antibodies, vol. 113, Rosenburg and Moore eds., Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 269-315 (1994) .
[0070] The basic 4-chain antibody unit is a heterotetrameric glycoprotein composed of two identical light (L) chains and two identical heavy (H) chains. An IgM antibody consists of 5 of the basic heterotetramer units along with an additional polypeptide called a J chain, and contains 10 antigen binding sites, while IgA antibodies comprise from 2-5 of the basic 4-chain units which can polymerize to form polyvalent assemblages in combination with the J chain. In the case of IgGs, the 4-chain unit is generally about 150,000 Daltons. Each L chain is linked to an H chain by one covalent disulfide bond, while the two H chains are linked to each other by one or more disulfide bonds depending on the H chain isotype. Each H and L chain also has regularly spaced intrachain disulfide bridges. Each H chain has at the N-terminus, a variable domain (VH) followed by three constant domains (CH) for each of the α and γ chains and four CH domains for μ and ε isotypes. Each L chain has at the N-terminus, a variable domain (VL) followed by a constant domain at its other end. The VL is aligned with the VH and the CL is aligned with the first constant domain of the heavy chain (CH1) . Particular amino acid residues are believed to form an interface between the light chain and heavy chain variable domains. The pairing of a VH and VL together forms a single antigen-binding site. For the structure and properties of the different classes of antibodies, see e.g., Basic and Clinical Immunology, 8th Edition, Daniel P. Sties, Abba I. Terr and Tristram G. Parsolw (eds) , Appleton &Lange, Norwalk, Conn., 1994, page 71 and Chapter 6. The L chain from any vertebrate species can be assigned to one of two clearly distinct types, called kappa and lambda, based on the amino acid sequences of their constant domains. Depending on the amino acid sequence of the constant domain of their heavy chains (CH) , immunoglobulins can be assigned to different classes or isotypes. There are five classes of immunoglobulins: IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG and IgM, having heavy chains designated α, δ, ε, γ and μ, respectively. The γ and α classes are further divided into subclasses on the basis of relatively minor differences in the CH sequence and function, e.g., humans express the following subclasses: IgG1, IgG2A, IgG2B, IgG3, IgG4, IgA1 and IgA2.
[0071] The Fc fragment comprises the carboxy-terminal portions of both H chains held together by disulfides. The effector functions of antibodies are determined by sequences in the Fc region, the region which is also recognized by Fc receptors (FcR) found on certain types of cells.
[0072] The “variable region” or “variable domain” of an antibody refers to the amino-terminal domains of the heavy or light chain of the antibody. The variable domains of the heavy chain and light chain may be referred to as “VH” and “VL” , respectively. These domains are generally the most variable parts of the antibody (relative to other antibodies of the same class) and contain the antigen binding sites. Heavy-chain only antibodies from the Camelidae species have a single heavy chain variable region, which is referred to as “VHH” . VHH is thus a special type of VH.
[0073] The term “variable” refers to the fact that certain segments of the variable domains differ extensively in sequence among antibodies. The V domain mediates antigen binding and defines the specificity of a particular antibody for its particular antigen. However, the variability is not evenly distributed across the entire span of the variable domains. Instead, it is concentrated in three segments called hypervariable regions (HVRs) both in the light-chain and the heavy chain variable domains. The more highly conserved portions of variable domains are called the framework regions (FR) . The variable domains of native heavy and light chains each comprise four FR regions, largely adopting a beta-sheet configuration, connected by three HVRs, which form loops connecting, and in some cases forming part of, the beta-sheet structure. The HVRs in each chain are held together in close proximity by the FR regions and, with the HVRs from the other chain, contribute to the formation of the antigen binding site of antibodies (see Kabat et al., Sequences of Immunological Interest, Fifth Edition, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Md. (1991) ) . The constant domains are not involved directly in the binding of antibody to an antigen, but exhibit various effector functions, such as participation of the antibody in antibody-dependent cellular toxicity.
[0074] The term “monoclonal antibody” as used herein refers to an antibody obtained from a population of substantially homogeneous antibodies, i.e., the individual antibodies comprising the population are identical except for possible naturally occurring mutations and / or post-translation modifications (e.g., isomerizations, amidations) that may be present in minor amounts. Monoclonal antibodies are highly specific, being directed against a single antigenic site. In contrast to polyclonal antibody preparations which typically include different antibodies directed against different determinants (epitopes) , each monoclonal antibody is directed against a single determinant on the antigen. In addition to their specificity, the monoclonal antibodies are advantageous in that they are synthesized by the hybridoma culture, uncontaminated by other immunoglobulins. The modifier “monoclonal” indicates the character of the antibody as being obtained from a substantially homogeneous population of antibodies, and is not to be construed as requiring production of the antibody by any particular method. For example, the monoclonal antibodies to be used in accordance with the present application may be made by a variety of techniques, including, for example, the hybridoma method (e.g., Kohler and Milstein., Nature, 256: 495-97 (1975) ; Hongo et al., Hybridoma, 14 (3) : 253-260 (1995) , Harlow et al., Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2nd ed. 1988) ; Hammerling et al., in: Monoclonal Antibodies and T-Cell Hybridomas 563-681 (Elsevier, N.Y., 1981) ) , recombinant DNA methods (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,567) , phage-display technologies (see, e.g., Clackson et al., Nature, 352: 624-628 (1991) ; Marks et al., J. Mol. Biol. 222: 581-597 (1992) ; Sidhu et al., J. Mol. Biol. 338 (2) : 299-310 (2004) ; Lee et al., J. Mol. Biol. 340 (5) : 1073-1093 (2004) ; Fellouse, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101 (34) : 12467-12472 (2004) ; and Lee et al., J. Immunol. Methods 284 (1-2) : 119-132 (2004) , and technologies for producing human or human-like antibodies in animals that have parts or all of the human immunoglobulin loci or genes encoding human immunoglobulin sequences (see, e.g., WO 1998 / 24893; WO 1996 / 34096; WO 1996 / 33735; WO 1991 / 10741; Jakobovits et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90: 2551 (1993) ;Jakobovits et al., Nature 362: 255-258 (1993) ; Bruggemann et al., Year in Immunol. 7: 33 (1993) ; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,545,807; 5,545,806; 5,569,825; 5,625,126; 5,633,425; and 5,661,016; Marks et al., Bio / Technology 10: 779-783 (1992) ; Lonberg et al., Nature 368: 856-859 (1994) ; Morrison, Nature 368: 812-813 (1994) ; Fishwild et al., Nature Biotechnol. 14: 845-851 (1996) ; Neuberger, Nature Biotechnol. 14: 826 (1996) ; and Lonberg and Huszar, Intern. Rev. Immunol. 13: 65-93 (1995) .
[0075] The terms “full-length antibody, ” “intact antibody” or “whole antibody” are used interchangeably to refer to an antibody in its substantially intact form, as opposed to an antibody fragment. Specifically full-length 4-chain antibodies include those with heavy and light chains including an Fc region. The constant domains may be native sequence constant domains (e.g., human native sequence constant domains) or amino acid sequence variants thereof. In some cases, the intact antibody may have one or more effector functions.
[0076] The term “diabodies” refers to small antibody fragments prepared by constructing sFv fragments (see preceding paragraph) with short linkers (about 5-10) residues) between the VH and VL domains such that inter-chain but not intra-chain pairing of the V domains is achieved, thereby resulting in a bivalent fragment, i.e., a fragment having two antigen-binding sites. Bispecific diabodies are heterodimers of two “crossover” sFv fragments in which the VH and VL domains of the two antibodies are present on different polypeptide chains. Diabodies are described in greater detail in, for example, EP 404,097; WO 93 / 11161; Hollinger et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90: 6444-6448 (1993) .
[0077] The monoclonal antibodies herein specifically include “chimeric” antibodies (immunoglobulins) in which a portion of the heavy and / or light chain is identical with or homologous to corresponding sequences in antibodies derived from a particular species or belonging to a particular antibody class or subclass, while the remainder of the chain (s) is (are) identical with or homologous to corresponding sequences in antibodies derived from another species or belonging to another antibody class or subclass, as well as fragments of such antibodies, so long as they exhibit the desired biological activity (U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,567; Morrison et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 81: 6851-6855 (1984) ) . Chimeric antibodies of interest herein includePRIMATTZFACTOR antibodies wherein the antigen-binding region of the antibody is derived from an antibody produced by, e.g., immunizing macaque monkeys with an antigen of interest. As used herein, “humanized antibody” is used a subset of “chimeric antibodies. ”
[0078] As used herein, the term “CDR” or “complementarity determining region” is intended to mean the non-contiguous antigen combining sites found within the variable region of both heavy and light chain polypeptides. These particular regions have been described by Kabat et al., J. Biol. Chem. 252: 6609-6616 (1977) ; Kabat et al., U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, “Sequences of proteins of immunological interest” (1991) ; Chothia et al., J. Mol. Biol. 196: 901-917 (1987) ; Al-Lazikani B. et al., J. Mol. Biol., 273: 927-948 (1997) ; MacCallum et al., J. Mol. Biol. 262: 732-745 (1996) ; Abhinandan and Martin, Mol. Immunol., 45: 3832-3839 (2008) ; Lefranc M. P. et al., Dev. Comp. Immunol., 27: 55-77 (2003) ; and Honegger and Plückthun, J. Mol. Biol., 309: 657-670 (2001) , where the definitions include overlapping or subsets of amino acid residues when compared against each other. Nevertheless, application of either definition to refer to a CDR of an antibody or grafted antibodies or variants thereof is intended to be within the scope of the term as defined and used herein. The amino acid residues which encompass the CDRs as defined by each of the above cited references are set forth below in Table 1 as a comparison. CDR prediction algorithms and interfaces are known in the art, including, for example, Abhinandan and Martin, Mol. Immunol., 45: 3832-3839 (2008) ; Ehrenmann F. et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 38: D301-D307 (2010) ; and Adolf-Bryfogle J. et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 43: D432-D438 (2015) . The contents of the references cited in this paragraph are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for use in the present application and for possible inclusion in one or more claims herein.
[0079] Table 1: CDR Definitions
[0080] 1Residue numbering follows the nomenclature of Kabat et al., supra
[0081] 2Residue numbering follows the nomenclature of Chothia et al., supra
[0082] 3Residue numbering follows the nomenclature of MacCallum et al., supra
[0083] 4Residue numbering follows the nomenclature of Lefranc et al., supra
[0084] 5Residue numbering follows the nomenclature of Honegger and Plückthun, supra
[0085] The expression “variable-domain residue-numbering as in Kabat” or “amino-acid-position numbering as in Kabat, ” and variations thereof, refers to the numbering system used for heavy-chain variable domains or light-chain variable domains of the compilation of antibodies in Kabat et al., supra. Using this numbering system, the actual linear amino acid sequence may contain fewer or additional amino acids corresponding to a shortening of, or insertion into, a FR or hypervariable region (HVR) of the variable domain. For example, a heavy-chain variable domain may include a single amino acid insert (residue 52a according to Kabat) after residue 52 of H2 and inserted residues (e.g. residues 82a, 82b, and 82c, etc. according to Kabat) after heavy-chain FR residue 82. The Kabat numbering of residues may be determined for a given antibody by alignment at regions of homology of the sequence of the antibody with a “standard” Kabat numbered sequence.
[0086] Unless indicated otherwise herein, the numbering of the residues in an immunoglobulin heavy chain is that of the EU index as in Kabat et al., supra with minor modification. The “EU index as in Kabat” refers to the residue numbering of the human IgG1 EU antibody.
[0087] “Framework” or “FR” residues are those variable-domain residues other than the CDR residues as herein defined.
[0088] As used herein, an “immunoassay” refers to any binding assay that uses an antibody capable of binding specifically to a target molecule to detect and quantify the target molecule.
[0089] “Humanized” forms of non-human (e.g., rodent) antibodies are chimeric antibodies that contain minimal sequence derived from the non-human antibody. For the most part, humanized antibodies are human immunoglobulins (recipient antibody) in which residues from a hypervariable region (HVR) of the recipient are replaced by residues from a hypervariable region of a non-human species (donor antibody) such as mouse, rat, rabbit or non-human primate having the desired antibody specificity, affinity, and capability. In some instances, framework region (FR) residues of the human immunoglobulin are replaced by corresponding non-human residues. Furthermore, humanized antibodies can comprise residues that are not found in the recipient antibody or in the donor antibody. These modifications are made to further refine antibody performance. In general, the humanized antibody will comprise substantially all of at least one, and typically two, variable domains, in which all or substantially all of the hypervariable loops correspond to those of a non-human immunoglobulin and all or substantially all of the FRs are those of a human immunoglobulin sequence. The humanized antibody optionally also will comprise at least a portion of an immunoglobulin constant region (Fc) , typically that of a human immunoglobulin. A suitable human acceptor antibody may be one selected from a conventional database, e.g., the KABAT database, Los Alamos database, the AbM, and Swiss Protein database, by homology to the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the donor antibody. A human antibody characterized by a homology to the framework regions of the donor antibody (on an amino acid basis) may be suitable to provide a heavy chain constant region and / or a heavy chain variable framework region for insertion of the donor CDRs. A suitable acceptor antibody capable of donating light chain constant or variable framework regions may be selected in a similar manner. It should be noted that the acceptor antibody heavy and light chains are not required to originate from the same acceptor antibody. The prior art describes several ways of producing such humanized antibodies (see, for example, EP-A-0239400 and EP-A-054951) . For further details, see, e.g., Jones et al., Nature 321: 522-525 (1986) ; Riechmann et al., Nature 332: 323-329 (1988) ; and Presta, Curr. Op. Struct. Biol. 2: 593-596 (1992) . See also, for example, Vaswani and Hamilton, Ann. Allergy, Asthma &Immunol. 1: 105-115 (1998) ; Harris, Biochem. Soc. Transactions 23: 1035-1038 (1995) ; Hurle and Gross, Curr. Op. Biotech. 5: 428-433 (1994) ; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,982,321 and 7,087,409.
[0090] A “human antibody” is an antibody that possesses an amino-acid sequence corresponding to that of an antibody produced by a human and / or has been made using any of the techniques for making human antibodies as disclosed herein. This definition of a human antibody specifically excludes a humanized antibody comprising non-human antigen-binding residues. Human antibodies can be produced using various techniques known in the art, including phage-display libraries. Hoogenboom and Winter, J. Mol. Biol., 227: 381 (1991) ; Marks et al., J. Mol. Biol., 222: 581 (1991) . Also available for the preparation of human monoclonal antibodies are methods described in Cole et al., Monoclonal Antibodies and Cancer Therapy, Alan R. Liss, p. 77 (1985) ; Boerner et al., J. Immunol., 147 (1) : 86-95 (1991) . See also van Dijk and van de Winkel, Curr. Opin. Pharmacol., 5: 368-74 (2001) . Human antibodies can be prepared by administering the antigen to a transgenic animal that has been modified to produce such antibodies in response to antigenic challenge, but whose endogenous loci have been disabled, e.g., immunized xenomice (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,075,181 and 6,150,584 regarding XENOMOUSETM technology) . See also, for example, Li et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 103: 3557-3562 (2006) regarding human antibodies generated via a human B-cell hybridoma technology.
[0091] The term “donor antibody” refers to an antibody (monoclonal, and / or recombinant) which contributes the amino acid sequences of its variable regions, CDRs, or other functional fragments or analogs thereof to a first immunoglobulin partner, so as to provide the altered immunoglobulin coding region and resulting expressed altered antibody with the antigenic specificity and neutralizing activity characteristic of the donor antibody.
[0092] The term “acceptor antibody” refers to an antibody (monoclonal and / or recombinant) heterologous to the donor antibody, which contributes all (or any portion, but in some embodiments all) of the amino acid sequences encoding its heavy and / or light chain framework regions and / or its heavy and / or light chain constant regions to the first immunoglobulin partner. In certain embodiments a human antibody is the acceptor antibody.
[0093] The term “attach, ” “attached, ” “fuse, ” or “fused” as used herein, refers to connecting or uniting by a bond, link, force or tie in order to keep two or more components together, which encompasses either direct or indirect attachment such that, for example, where a first polypeptide is directly bound to a second polypeptide or material, and, for example, where one or more intermediate compounds (e.g., amino acids, peptides, polypeptides, etc. ) are disposed between the first polypeptide and the second polypeptide or material.
[0094] “Percent (%) amino acid sequence identity” or “homology” with respect to the polypeptide and antibody sequences identified herein is defined as the percentage of amino acid residues in a candidate sequence that are identical with the amino acid residues in the polypeptide being compared, after aligning the sequences considering any conservative substitutions as part of the sequence identity. Alignment for purposes of determining percent amino acid sequence identity can be achieved in various ways that are within the skill in the art, for instance, using publicly available computer software such as BLAST, BLAST-2, ALIGN, Megalign (DNASTAR) , or MUSCLE software. Those skilled in the art can determine appropriate parameters for measuring alignment, including any algorithms needed to achieve maximal alignment over the full-length of the sequences being compared. For purposes herein, however, %amino acid sequence identity values are generated using the sequence comparison computer program MUSCLE (Edgar, R.C., Nucleic Acids Research 32 (5) : 1792-1797, 2004; Edgar, R.C., BMC Bioinformatics 5 (1) : 113, 2004) .
[0095] “Homologous” refers to the sequence similarity or sequence identity between two polypeptides or between two nucleic acid molecules. When a position in both of the two compared sequences is occupied by the same base or amino acid monomer subunit, e.g., if a position in each of two DNA molecules is occupied by adenine, then the molecules are homologous at that position. The percent of homology between two sequences is a function of the number of matching or homologous positions shared by the two sequences divided by the number of positions compared times 100. For example, if 6 of 10 of the positions in two sequences are matched or homologous then the two sequences are 60%homologous. By way of example, the DNA sequences ATTGCC and TATGGC share 50%homology. Generally, a comparison is made when two sequences are aligned to give maximum homology.
[0096] The term “constant domain” refers to the portion of an immunoglobulin molecule having a more conserved amino acid sequence relative to the other portion of the immunoglobulin, the variable domain, which contains the antigen-binding site. The constant domain contains the CH1, CH2 and CH3 domains (collectively, CH) of the heavy chain and the CHL (or CL) domain of the light chain.
[0097] The “light chains” of antibodies (immunoglobulins) from any mammalian species can be assigned to one of two clearly distinct types, called kappa ( “κ” ) and lambda ( “λ” ) , based on the amino acid sequences of their constant domains.
[0098] The “CH1 domain” (also referred to as “C1” of “H1” domain) usually extends from about amino acid 118 to about amino acid 215 (EU numbering system) .
[0099] “Hinge region” is generally defined as a region in IgG corresponding to Glu216 to Pro230 of human IgG1 (Burton, Molec. Immunol. 22: 161-206 (1985) ) . Hinge regions of other IgG isotypes may be aligned with the IgG1 sequence by placing the first and last cysteine residues forming inter-heavy chain S-Sbonds in the same positions.
[0100] The “CH2 domain” of a human IgG Fc domain (also referred to as “C2” domain) usually extends from about amino acid 231 to about amino acid 340. The CH2 domain is unique in that it is not closely paired with another domain. Rather, two N-linked branched carbohydrate chains are interposed between the two CH2 domains of an intact native IgG molecule. It has been speculated that the carbohydrate may provide a substitute for the domain-domain pairing and help stabilize the CH2 domain. Burton, Molec Immunol. 22: 161-206 (1985) .
[0101] The “CH3 domain” (also referred to as “C3” domain) comprises the stretch of residues C-terminal to a CH2 domain in an Fc domain (i.e. from about amino acid residue 341 to the C-terminal end of an antibody sequence, typically at amino acid residue 446 or 447 of an IgG) .
[0102] The term “Fc domain” or “fragment crystallizable region” herein is used to define a C-terminal region of an immunoglobulin heavy chain, including native-sequence Fc domains and variant Fc domains. Although the boundaries of the Fc domain of an immunoglobulin heavy chain might vary, the human IgG heavy-chain Fc domain is usually defined to stretch from an amino acid residue at position Cys226, or from Pro230, to the carboxyl-terminus thereof. The C-terminal lysine (residue 447 according to the EU numbering system) of the Fc domain may be removed, for example, during production or purification of the antibody, or by recombinantly engineering the nucleic acid encoding a heavy chain of the antibody. Accordingly, a composition of intact antibodies may comprise antibody populations with all K447 residues removed, antibody populations with no K447 residues removed, and antibody populations having a mixture of antibodies with and without the K447 residue. Suitable native-sequence Fc domains for use in the antibodies described herein include human IgG1, IgG2 (IgG2A, IgG2B) , IgG3 and IgG4.
[0103] “Fc receptor” or “FcR” describes a receptor that binds the Fc domain of an antibody. The preferred FcR is a native sequence human FcR. Moreover, a preferred FcR is one which binds an IgG antibody (agamma receptor) and includes receptors of the FcγRI, FcγRII, and FcγRIII subclasses, including allelic variants and alternatively spliced forms of these receptors, FcγRII receptors include FcγRIIA (an “activating receptor” ) and FcγRIIB (an “inhibiting receptor” ) , which have similar amino acid sequences that differ primarily in the cytoplasmic domains thereof. Activating receptor FcγRIIA contains an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) in its cytoplasmic domain. Inhibiting receptor FcγRIIB contains an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motif (ITIM) in its cytoplasmic domain. (See M. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 15: 203-234 (1997) . FcRs are reviewed in Ravetch and Kinet, Annu. Rev. Immunol. 9: 457-92 (1991) ; Capel et al., Immunomethods 4: 25-34 (1994) ; and de Haas et al., J. Lab. Clin. Med. 126: 330-41 (1995) . Other FcRs, including those to be identified in the future, are encompassed by the term “FcR” herein.
[0104] The term “epitope” as used herein refers to the specific group of atoms or amino acids on an antigen to which an antibody or antibody moiety binds. Two antibodies or antibody moieties may bind the same epitope within an antigen if they exhibit competitive binding for the antigen.
[0105] As used herein, a first antibody or fragment thereof “competes” for binding to a target antigen with a second antibody or fragment thereof when the first antibody or fragment thereof inhibits the target antigen binding of the second antibody of fragment thereof by at least about 50%(such as at least about any one of 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%or 99%) in the presence of an equimolar concentration of the first antibody or fragment thereof, or vice versa. A high throughput process for “binning” antibodies based upon their cross-competition is described in PCT Publication No. WO 03 / 48731.
[0106] As use herein, the terms “specifically binds, ” “specifically recognizing, ” and “is specific for” refer to measurable and reproducible interactions, such as binding between a target and an antibody or antibody moiety, which is determinative of the presence of the target in the presence of a heterogeneous population of molecules, including biological molecules. For example, an antibody or antibody moiety that specifically recognizes a target (which can be an epitope) is an antibody or antibody moiety that binds this target with greater affinity, avidity, more readily, and / or with greater duration than its bindings to other targets. In some embodiments, the extent of binding of an antibody to an unrelated target is less than about 10%of the binding of the antibody to the target as measured, e.g., by a radioimmunoassay (RIA) . In some embodiments, an antibody that specifically binds a target has a dissociation constant (KD) of ≤10-5 M, ≤10-6 M, ≤10-7 M, ≤10-8 M, ≤10-9 M, ≤10-10 M, ≤10-11 M, or ≤10-12 M. In some embodiments, an antibody specifically binds an epitope on a protein that is conserved among the protein from different species. In some embodiments, specific binding can include, but does not require exclusive binding. Binding specificity of the antibody or antigen-binding domain can be determined experimentally by methods known in the art. Such methods comprise, but are not limited to Western blots, ELISA-, RIA-, ECL-, IRMA-, EIA-, BIACORETM -tests and peptide scans.
[0107] The term “specificity” refers to selective recognition of an antigen binding protein or antibody for a particular epitope of an antigen. Natural antibodies, for example, are monospecific. The term “multispecific” as used herein denotes that an antigen binding protein or an antibody has two or more antigen-binding sites of which at least two bind a different antigen or a different epitope of the same antigen. “Bispecific” as used herein denotes that an antigen binding protein or an antibody has two different antigen-binding specificities. The term “monospecific” antibody as used herein denotes an antibody that has one or more binding sites each of which bind the same epitope of the same antigen.
[0108] “Effector cells” are leukocytes which express one or more FcRs and perform effector functions. In one aspect, the effector cells express at least FcγRIII and perform ADCC effector function. Examples of human leukocytes which mediate ADCC include peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) , natural killer (NK) cells, monocytes, cytotoxic T cells and neutrophils. The effector cells may be isolated from a native source, e.g., blood. Effector cells generally are lymphocytes associated with the effector phase, and function to produce cytokines (helper T cells) , killing cells in infected with pathogens (cytotoxic T cells) or secreting antibodies (differentiated B cells) .
[0109] “Complement dependent cytotoxicity” or “CDC” refers to the lysis of a target cell in the presence of complement. Activation of the classical complement pathway is initiated by the binding of the first component of the complement system (C1q) to antibodies (of the appropriate subclass) which are bound to their cognate antigen. To assess complement activation, a CDC assay, e.g., as described in Gazzano-Santoro et al., J. Immunol. Methods 202: 163 (1996) , may be performed. Antibody variants with altered Fc region amino acid sequences and increased or decreased C1q binding capability are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,194,551B1 and WO99 / 51642. The contents of those patent publications are specifically incorporated herein by reference. See, also, Idusogie et al. J. Immunol. 164: 4178-4184 (2000) .
[0110] “Binding affinity” generally refers to the strength of the sum total of non-covalent interactions between a single binding site of a molecule (e.g., an antibody) and its binding partner (e.g., an antigen) . Unless indicated otherwise, as used herein, “binding affinity” refers to intrinsic binding affinity that reflects a 1: 1 interaction between members of a binding pair (e.g., antibody and antigen) . The affinity of a molecule X for its partner Y can generally be represented by the dissociation constant (Kd) . Affinity can be measured by common methods known in the art, including those described herein. Low-affinity antibodies generally bind antigen slowly and tend to dissociate readily, whereas high-affinity antibodies generally bind antigen faster and tend to remain bound longer. A variety of methods of measuring binding affinity are known in the art, any of which can be used for purposes of the present application. Specific illustrative and exemplary embodiments for measuring binding affinity are described in the following.
[0111] An “on-rate, ” “rate of association, ” “association rate, ” or “kon” as used herein can also be determined as described above using methods such as biolayer interferometry and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) .
[0112] An “isolated” antibody is one that has been identified, separated and / or recovered from a component of its production environment (e.g., natural or recombinant) . Preferably, the isolated polypeptide is free of association with all other components from its production environment. Contaminant components of its production environment, such as that resulting from recombinant transfected cells, are materials that would typically interfere with research, diagnostic or therapeutic uses for the antibody, and may include enzymes, hormones, and other proteinaceous or non-proteinaceous solutes. In preferred embodiments, the polypeptide will be purified: (1) to greater than 95%by weight of antibody as determined by, for example, the Lowry method, and in some embodiments, to greater than 99%by weight; (1) to a degree sufficient to obtain at least 15 residues of N-terminal or internal amino acid sequence by use of a spinning cup sequenator, or (3) to homogeneity by SDS-PAGE under non-reducing or reducing conditions using Coomassie blue or, preferably, silver stain. Isolated antibody includes the antibody in situ within recombinant cells since at least one component of the antibody’s natural environment will not be present. Ordinarily, however, an isolated polypeptide or antibody will be prepared by at least one purification step.
[0113] An “isolated” nucleic acid molecule encoding a construct, antibody, or antigen-binding fragment thereof described herein is a nucleic acid molecule that is identified and separated from at least one contaminant nucleic acid molecule with which it is ordinarily associated in the environment in which it was produced. Preferably, the isolated nucleic acid is free of association with all components associated with the production environment. The isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding the polypeptides and antibodies described herein is in a form other than in the form or setting in which it is found in nature. Isolated nucleic acid molecules therefore are distinguished from nucleic acid encoding the polypeptides and antibodies described herein existing naturally in cells. An isolated nucleic acid includes a nucleic acid molecule contained in cells that ordinarily contain the nucleic acid molecule, but the nucleic acid molecule is present extrachromosomally or at a chromosomal location that is different from its natural chromosomal location.
[0114] Nucleic acid is “operably linked” when it is placed into a functional relationship with another nucleic acid sequence. For example, DNA for a presequence or secretory leader is operably linked to DNA for a polypeptide if it is expressed as a preprotein that participates in the secretion of the polypeptide; a promoter or enhancer is operably linked to a coding sequence if it affects the transcription of the sequence; or a ribosome binding site is operably linked to a coding sequence if it is positioned so as to facilitate translation. Generally, “operably linked” means that the DNA sequences being linked are contiguous, and, in the case of a secretory leader, contiguous and in reading frame. However, enhancers do not have to be contiguous. Linking is accomplished by ligation at convenient restriction sites. If such sites do not exist, the synthetic oligonucleotide adaptors or linkers are used in accordance with conventional practice.
[0115] “Isolated” means altered or removed from the natural state. For example, a nucleic acid or a peptide naturally present in its normal context in a living subject is not “isolated, ” but the same nucleic acid or peptide partially or completely separated from the coexisting materials of its natural context is “isolated. ” An isolated nucleic acid or protein can exist in substantially purified form, or can exist in a non-native environment such as, for example, a host cell.
[0116] The term “hybridoma, ” as used herein refers to a cell resulting from the fusion of a B-lymphocyte and a fusion partner such as a myeloma cell. A hybridoma can be cloned and maintained indefinitely in cell culture and is able to produce monoclonal antibodies. A hybridoma can also be considered to be a hybrid cell.
[0117] The terms “nucleic acid molecule” , “nucleic acid” and “polynucleotide” may be used interchangeably, and refer to a polymer of nucleotides. Such polymers of nucleotides may contain natural and / or unnatural nucleotides, and include, but are not limited to, DNA, RNA, and PNA. “Nucleic acid sequence” refers to the linear sequence of nucleotides that comprise the nucleic acid molecule or polynucleotide. An “isolated nucleic acid” refers to a nucleic acid segment or fragment which has been separated from sequences which flank it in a naturally occurring state, i.e., a DNA fragment which has been removed from the sequences which are normally adjacent to the fragment, i.e., the sequences adjacent to the fragment in a genome in which it naturally occurs. The term also applies to nucleic acids which have been substantially purified from other components which naturally accompany the nucleic acid, i.e., RNA or DNA or proteins, which naturally accompany it in the cell. The term therefore includes, for example, a recombinant DNA which is incorporated into a vector, into an autonomously replicating plasmid or virus, or into the genomic DNA of a prokaryote or eukaryote, or which exists as a separate molecule (i.e., as a cDNA or a genomic or cDNA fragment produced by PCR or restriction enzyme digestion) independent of other sequences. It also includes a recombinant DNA which is part of a hybrid gene encoding additional polypeptide sequence.
[0118] “Complementary” as used herein to refer to a nucleic acid, refers to the broad concept of sequence complementarity between regions of two nucleic acid strands or between two regions of the same nucleic acid strand. It is known that an adenine residue of a first nucleic acid region is capable of forming specific hydrogen bonds ( “base pairing” ) with a residue of a second nucleic acid region which is antiparallel to the first region if the residue is thymine or uracil. Similarly, it is known that a cytosine residue of a first nucleic acid strand is capable of base pairing with a residue of a second nucleic acid strand which is antiparallel to the first strand if the residue is guanine. A first region of a nucleic acid is complementary to a second region of the same or a different nucleic acid if, when the two regions are arranged in an antiparallel fashion, at least one nucleotide residue of the first region is capable of base pairing with a residue of the second region. In some embodiments, the first region comprises a first portion and the second region comprises a second portion, whereby, when the first and second portions are arranged in an antiparallel fashion, at least about 50%, and or at least about 75%, or at least about 90%, or at least about 95%of the nucleotide residues of the first portion are capable of base pairing with nucleotide residues in the second portion. In some embodiments, all nucleotide residues of the first portion are capable of base pairing with nucleotide residues in the second portion.
[0119] The term “vector, ” as used herein, refers to a nucleic acid molecule capable of propagating another nucleic acid to which it is linked. The term includes the vector as a self-replicating nucleic acid structure as well as the vector incorporated into the genome of a host cell into which it has been introduced. A vector may be a plasmid, bacteriophage, bacterial artificial chromosome or yeast artificial chromosome. A vector may be a DNA or RNA vector. A vector may be either a self-replicating extrachromosomal vector or a vector which integrates into a host genome. Certain vectors are capable of directing the expression of nucleic acids to which they are operatively linked. Such vectors are referred to herein as “expression vectors. ”
[0120] “Encoding” refers to the inherent property of specific sequences of nucleotides in a polynucleotide, such as a gene, a cDNA, or an mRNA, to serve as templates for synthesis of other polymers and macromolecules in biological processes having either a defined sequence of nucleotides (i.e., rRNA, tRNA and mRNA) or a defined sequence of amino acids and the biological properties resulting there from. Thus, a gene encodes a protein if transcription and translation of mRNA corresponding to that gene produces the protein in a cell or other biological system. Both the coding strand, the nucleotide sequence of which is identical to the mRNA sequence and is usually provided in sequence listings, and the non-coding strand, used as the template for transcription of a gene or cDNA, can be referred to as encoding the protein or other product of that gene or cDNA.
[0121] The terms “polypeptide” and “peptide” are used interchangeably to refer to a polymer of amino acid residues, and are not limited to a minimum length. Such polymers of amino acid residues may contain natural or unnatural amino acid residues. Both full-length proteins and fragments thereof are encompassed by the definition. The terms also include post-expression modifications of the polypeptide, for example, glycosylation, sialylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, and the like. Furthermore, a “polypeptide” includes modifications, such as deletions, additions, and substitutions (generally conservative in nature) , to the native sequence, as long as the polypeptide maintains the desired activity. These modifications may be deliberate, as through site-directed mutagenesis, or may be accidental, such as through mutations of hosts which produce the proteins or errors due to PCR amplification.
[0122] As used herein, “conjugated” refers to covalent attachment of one molecule to a second molecule.
[0123] “Variant” as the term is used herein, is a nucleic acid sequence or a peptide sequence that differs in sequence from a reference nucleic acid sequence or peptide sequence respectively, but retains essential biological properties of the reference molecule. Changes in the sequence of a nucleic acid variant may not alter the amino acid sequence of a peptide encoded by the reference nucleic acid, or may result in amino acid substitutions, additions, deletions, fusions and truncations. Changes in the sequence of peptide variants are typically limited or conservative, so that the sequences of the reference peptide and the variant are closely similar overall and, in many regions, identical. A variant and reference peptide can differ in amino acid sequence by one or more substitutions, additions, deletions in any combination. A variant of a nucleic acid or peptide can be a naturally occurring such as an allelic variant, or can be a variant that is not known to occur naturally. Non-naturally occurring variants of nucleic acids and peptides may be made by mutagenesis techniques or by direct synthesis. In various embodiments, the variant sequence is at least 99%, at least 98%, at least 97%, at least 96%, at least 95%, at least 94%, at least 93%, at least 92%, at least 91%, at least 90%, at least 89%, at least 88%, at least 87%, at least 86%, at least 85%identical to the reference sequence.
[0124] The term “regulating” as used herein can mean any method of altering the level or activity of a substrate. Non-limiting examples of regulating with regard to a protein include affecting expression (including transcription and / or translation) , affecting folding, affecting degradation or protein turnover, and affecting localization of a protein. Non-limiting examples of regulating with regard to an enzyme further include affecting the enzymatic activity. “Regulator” refers to a molecule whose activity includes affecting the level or activity of a substrate. A regulator can be direct or indirect. A regulator can function to activate or inhibit or otherwise modulate its substrate.
[0125] The term “control sequences” refers to DNA sequences necessary for the expression of an operably linked coding sequence in a particular host organism. The control sequences that are suitable for prokaryotes, for example, include a promoter, optionally an operator sequence, and a ribosome binding site. Eukaryotic cells are known to utilize promoters, polyadenylation signals, and enhancers.
[0126] A “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” refers to a non-toxic solid, semisolid, or liquid filler, diluent, encapsulating material, formulation auxiliary, or carrier conventional in the art for use with a therapeutic agent that together comprise a “pharmaceutical composition” for administration to a subject. A pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is non-toxic to recipients at the dosages and concentrations employed and is compatible with other ingredients of the formulation. The pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is appropriate for the formulation employed.
[0127] The “diluent” of interest herein is one which is pharmaceutically acceptable (safe and non-toxic for administration to a human) and is useful for the preparation of a liquid formulation, such as a formulation reconstituted after lyophilization. Exemplary diluents include sterile water, bacteriostatic water for injection (BWFI) , a pH buffered solution (e.g. phosphate-buffered saline) , sterile saline solution, Ringer’s solution or dextrose solution. In an alternative embodiment, diluents can include aqueous solutions of salts and / or buffers.
[0128] A “preservative” is a compound which can be added to the formulations herein to reduce bacterial activity. The addition of a preservative may, for example, facilitate the production of a multi-use (multiple-dose) formulation. Examples of potential preservatives include octadecyldimethylbenzyl ammonium chloride, hexamethonium chloride, benzalkonium chloride (amixture of alkylbenzyldimethylammonium chlorides in which the alkyl groups are long-chain compounds) , and benzethonium chloride. Other types of preservatives include aromatic alcohols such as phenol, butyl and benzyl alcohol, alkyl parabens such as methyl or propyl paraben, catechol, resorcinol, cyclohexanol, 3-pentanol, and m-cresol. The most preferred preservative herein is benzyl alcohol.
[0129] The terms “pharmaceutical formulation” and “pharmaceutical composition” refer to a preparation which is in such form as to permit the biological activity of the active ingredient (s) to be effective, and which contains no additional components which are unacceptably toxic to a subject to which the formulation would be administered. Such formulations may be sterile.
[0130] A “sterile” formulation is aseptic or essentially free from living microorganisms and their spores.
[0131] A “stable” formulation is one in which the protein therein essentially retains its physical and chemical stability and integrity upon storage. Various analytical techniques for measuring protein stability are available in the art and are reviewed in Peptide and Protein Drug Delivery, 247-301, Vincent Lee Ed., Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, N.Y., Pubs. (1991) and Jones, A. Adv. Drug Delivery Rev. 10: 29-90 (1993) . Stability can be measured at a selected temperature for a selected time period. For rapid screening, the formulation may be kept at 40℃. for 2 weeks to 1 month, at which time stability is measured. Where the formulation is to be stored at 2-8℃., generally the formulation should be stable at 30℃. or 40℃. for at least 1 month and / or stable at 2-8℃. for at least 2 years. Where the formulation is to be stored at 30℃., generally the formulation should be stable for at least 2 years at 30℃. and / or stable at 40℃. for at least 6 months. For example, the extent of aggregation during storage can be used as an indicator of protein stability. Thus, a “stable” formulation may be one wherein less than about 10%and preferably less than about 5%of the protein are present as an aggregate in the formulation. In other embodiments, any increase in aggregate formation during storage of the formulation can be determined.
[0132] A “reconstituted” formulation is one which has been prepared by dissolving a lyophilized protein or antibody formulation in a diluent such that the protein is dispersed throughout. The reconstituted formulation is suitable for administration (e.g. subcutaneous administration) to a patient to be treated with the protein of interest and, in certain embodiments, may be one which is suitable for parenteral or intravenous administration.
[0133] An “isotonic” formulation is one which has essentially the same osmotic pressure as human blood. Isotonic formulations will generally have an osmotic pressure from about 250 to 350 mOsm. The term “hypotonic” describes a formulation with an osmotic pressure below that of human blood. Correspondingly, the term “hypertonic” is used to describe a formulation with an osmotic pressure above that of human blood. Isotonicity can be measured using a vapor pressure or ice-freezing type osmometer, for example. The formulations of the present application can be hypertonic as a result of the addition of salt and / or buffer.
[0134] A “recombinant AAV vector (rAAV vector) ” refers to a polynucleotide vector comprising one or more heterologous sequences (i.e., nucleic acid sequence not of AAV origin) that are flanked by at least one, and in embodiments two, AAV inverted terminal repeat sequences (ITRs) . Such rAAV vectors can be replicated and packaged into infectious viral particles when present in a host cell that has been infected with a suitable helper virus (or that is expressing suitable helper functions) and that is expressing AAV rep and cap gene products (i.e. AAV Rep and Cap proteins) . When a rAAV vector is incorporated into a larger polynucleotide (e.g., in a chromosome or in another vector such as a plasmid used for cloning or transfection) , then the rAAV vector may be referred to as a “pro-vector” which can be “rescued” by replication and encapsidation in the presence of AAV packaging functions and suitable helper functions. An rAAV vector can be in any of a number of forms, including, but not limited to, plasmids, linear artificial chromosomes, complexed with lipids, encapsulated within liposomes, and encapsidated in a viral particle, particularly an AAV particle. A rAAV vector can be packaged into an AAV virus capsid to generate a “recombinant adeno-associated viral particle (rAAV particle) ” .
[0135] An “AAV inverted terminal repeat (ITR) ” sequence, a term well-understood in the art, is an approximately 145-nucleotide sequence that is present at both termini of the native single-stranded AAV genome. The outermost 125 nucleotides of the ITR can be present in either of two alternative orientations, leading to heterogeneity between different AAV genomes and between the two ends of a single AAV genome. The outermost 125 nucleotides also contains several shorter regions of self-complementarity (designated A, A’ , B, B’ , C, C’a nd D regions) , allowing intrastrand base-pairing to occur within this portion of the ITR.
[0136] The term “transfected” or “transformed” or “transduced” as used herein refers to a process by which exogenous nucleic acid is transferred or introduced into the host cell. A “transfected” or “transformed” or “transduced” cell is one which has been transfected, transformed or transduced with exogenous nucleic acid. The cell includes the primary subject cell and its progeny.
[0137] The terms “host cell, ” “host cell line, ” and “host cell culture” are used interchangeably and refer to cells into which exogenous nucleic acid has been introduced, including the progeny of such cells. Host cells include “transformants” and “transformed cells, ” which include the primary transformed cell and progeny derived therefrom without regard to the number of passages. Progeny may not be completely identical in nucleic acid content to a parent cell, and may contain mutations. Mutant progeny that have the same function or biological activity as screened or selected for in the originally transformed cell are included herein.
[0138] As used herein, “treatment” or “treating” is an approach for obtaining beneficial or desired results, including clinical results. For purposes of this application, beneficial or desired clinical results include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: alleviating one or more symptoms resulting from the disease, diminishing the extent of the disease, stabilizing the disease (e.g., preventing or delaying the worsening of the disease) , preventing or delaying the spread (e.g., metastasis) of the disease, preventing or delaying the recurrence of the disease, delaying or slowing the progression of the disease, ameliorating the disease state, providing a remission (partial or total) of the disease, decreasing the dose of one or more other medications required to treat the disease, delaying the progression of the disease, increasing or improving the quality of life, increasing weight gain, and / or prolonging survival. The methods of the application contemplate any one or more of these aspects of treatment.
[0139] The terms “effective amount” and “pharmaceutically effective amount” as used herein refer to a sufficient amount of an agent to provide the desired biological result. That result can be reduction (e.g., reducing at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 99%, or 100%) and / or alleviation of the signs, symptoms, or causes of a disease or disorder, or any other desired alteration of a biological system.
[0140] The terms “inhibition” or “inhibit” refer to a decrease or cessation of any phenotypic characteristic or to the decrease or cessation in the incidence, degree, or likelihood of that characteristic. To “reduce” or “inhibit” is to decrease, reduce or arrest an activity, function, and / or amount as compared to that of a reference. In certain embodiments, by “reduce” or “inhibit” is meant the ability to cause an overall decrease of 20%or greater (e.g., at least about any of 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 99%, or 100%) . In another embodiment, by “reduce” or “inhibit” is meant the ability to cause an overall decrease of 50%or greater. In yet another embodiment, by “reduce” or “inhibit” is meant the ability to cause an overall decrease of 75%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or greater.
[0141] A “reference” as used herein, refers to any sample, standard, or level that is used for comparison purposes. A reference may be obtained from a healthy and / or non-diseased sample. In some examples, a reference may be obtained from an untreated sample. In some examples, a reference is obtained from a non-diseased or non-treated sample of an individual. In some examples, a reference is obtained from one or more healthy individuals who are not the individual or patient.
[0142] As used herein, “delaying development of a disease” means to defer, hinder, slow, retard, stabilize, suppress and / or postpone development of the disease. This delay can be of varying lengths of time, depending on the history of the disease and / or individual being treated. As is evident to one skilled in the art, a sufficient or significant delay can, in effect, encompass prevention, in that the individual does not develop the disease.
[0143] “Preventing” as used herein, includes providing prophylaxis with respect to the occurrence or recurrence of a disease in an individual that may be predisposed to the disease but has not yet been diagnosed with the disease.
[0144] As used herein, to “suppress” a function or activity is to reduce the function or activity when compared to otherwise same conditions except for a condition or parameter of interest, or alternatively, as compared to another condition. For example, an antibody which suppresses tumor growth reduces the rate of growth of the tumor compared to the rate of growth of the tumor in the absence of the antibody.
[0145] As used herein, the terms “patient, ” “subject, ” “individual, ” and the like are used interchangeably herein, and refer to any animal, in some embodiments a mammal, and in some embodiments a human, having a complement system, including a human in need of therapy for, or susceptible to, a condition or its sequelae. The individual may include, for example, dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, horses, rats, monkeys, mice, and humans. In some embodiments, the individual is a human.
[0146] It is understood that embodiments of the application described herein include “consisting of” and / or “consisting essentially of” embodiments.
[0147] Reference to “about” a value or parameter herein includes (and describes) variations that are directed to that value or parameter per se. For example, description referring to “about X” includes description of “X” .
[0148] As used herein, reference to “not” a value or parameter generally means and describes “other than” a value or parameter. For example, the method is not used to treat disease of type X means the method is used to treat disease of types other than X.
[0149] The term “about X-Y” used herein has the same meaning as “about X to about Y. ”
[0150] As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a, ” “or, ” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[0151] II. Multispecific Constructs
[0152] In one aspect, provided herein is a multispecific construct comprising: a first moiety (such as first antibody moiety) that specifically recognizing complement factor D ( “FD” ) ; and a second moiety (such as second antibody moiety) that specifically recognizing a component of the complement pathway (hereinafter also referred to as “complement protein” ) . In some embodiments, the second moiety specifically recognizes complement component 2 ( “C2” ) . In some embodiments, the second moiety specifically recognizes complement component 5 ( “C5” ) . In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises two or more first moieties (e.g., scFvs) , such as fused to each other in tandem, or on different polypeptide chains. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises two or more second moieties (e.g., scFvs) , such as fused to each other in tandem, or on different polypeptide chains. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises (or consists essentially of, or consists of) one polypeptide chain. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises (or consists essentially of, or consists of) two or more (e.g., 2) polypeptide chains, such as a heterodimer or a homodimer formed in the presence of an Fc domain.
[0153] In some embodiment, the first antibody moiety specifically recognizing the FD comprises an immunoglobulin heavy chain variable domain ( “VH1” ) and an immunoglobulin light chain domain ( “VL1” ) . In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is selected from the group consisting of full-length antibody, Fab, Fab’ , F (ab’ ) 2, scFv, and sdAb. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is an scFv. Such scFv can comprise, for example, from N-terminus to C-terminus, VH1-optional linker-VL1. In some embodiments, the scFv can comprise, from N-terminus to C-terminus, VL1-optional linker-VH1. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety comprises more than one (e.g., 2, 3, or 4) anti-FD scFvs, optionally arranged in tandem. In some embodiments, the linker between VH1 and VL1 of an anti-FD scFv is a GS linker. In some embodiments, the linker between VH1 and VL1 of an anti-FD scFv comprises an amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 89-95, and 110. In some embodiments, the linker between VH1 and VL1 of an anti-FD scFv comprises an amino acid sequence of GGGGSGGGGSGGGGS (SEQ ID NO: 93) or GGGGSGGGGSGGGGSSGGGS (SEQ ID NO: 95) .
[0154] In some embodiment, the second antibody moiety specifically recognizing the complement protein comprises an immunoglobulin heavy chain variable domain ( “VH2” ) and an immunoglobulin light chain domain ( “VL2” ) . In some embodiments, the second antibody moiety is selected from the group consisting of full-length antibody, Fab, Fab’ , F (ab’ ) 2, scFv, and sdAb. In some embodiments, the second antibody moiety is an scFv. Such scFv can comprise, for example, from N-terminus to C-terminus, VH2-optional linker-VL2. In some embodiments, the scFv can comprise, from N-terminus to C-terminus, VL2-optional linker-VH2. In some embodiments, the second antibody modify comprises more than one (e.g., 2, 3, or 4) scFvs recognizing the complement protein, optionally arranged in tandem. In some embodiments, the complement protein is C2. In some embodiments, the complement protein is C5. In some embodiments, the linker between VH2 and VL2 of the anti-complement protein scFv is a GS linker. In some embodiments, the linker between VH2 and VL2 of the anti-complement protein scFv comprises an amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 89-95, and 110. In some embodiments, the linker between VH2 and VL2 of the anti-complement protein scFv comprises an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 93 or 95.
[0155] In some embodiments, the first moiety (e.g., first antibody moiety) is linked directly to the second moiety (e.g., second antibody moiety) . In some embodiments, the first moiety is linked to the second moiety via a linker, such as a peptide linker. In some embodiments, the first moiety is fused to the second moiety via a peptide linker. In some embodiments, the linker has a length of about four to about fifty amino acids. In some embodiments, the linker connecting the first moiety and the second moiety is a GS linker. In some embodiments, the linker is selected from the group consisting of (G) n (SEQ ID NO: 110) , (GS) n (SEQ ID NO: 89) , (GGGS) n (SEQ ID NO: 90) , (GGGGS) n (SEQ ID NO: 91) , and (GSGGS) n (SEQ ID NO: 92) , wherein n is an integer of at least 1. In some embodiments, n is 1-8. In some embodiments, the linker connecting the first moiety and the second moiety comprises an amino acid sequence of GGGGS (SEQ ID NO: 76) . In some embodiments, the linker comprises an amino acid sequence of GGGGSGGGGSGGGGS (SEQ ID NO: 93) . In some embodiments, the linker comprises an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 95. In some embodiments, the linker comprises an amino acid sequence of GGGGSGGGGS (SEQ ID NO: 94) .
[0156] In some embodiments, the first moiety is fused to the second moiety via an Fc domain. In some embodiments, the Fc domain is selected from the group consisting of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, or IgM Fc domain. In some embodiments, the Fc region is an IgG4 Fc. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises a LALA mutation. In some embodiments, the Fc region is a human Fc region. In some embodiments, the human IgG4 Fc comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 96. In some embodiments, the Fc region is capable of mediating an antibody effector function, such as ADCC (antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity) and / or CDC (complement-dependent cytotoxicity) . In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the carboxy-terminal portions of both heavy chains held together by disulfide bonds. In some embodiments, the effector functions of antibodies are determined by sequences of Fc domain. In some embodiments, the Fc domain is recognized by Fc receptors found on certain types of cells. In some embodiments, the IgG4 Fc fragment comprises an S228P mutation. In some embodiments, the IgG4 Fc fragment comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 97. In some embodiments, the Fc region comprises a modification that reduces binding affinity of the Fc region to an Fc receptor. In some embodiments, the Fc domain is flanked by GGGGS (SEQ ID NO: 76) on each end of its sequence. In some embodiments, the Fc domain is flanked by GGGGSGGGGS (SEQ ID NO: 94) on each end of its sequence (hereinafter also referred to as “GS-Fc-GS” linker or “flanked Fc domain linker” ) . In some embodiments, the IgG4 Fc fragment comprises an PLA mutation (S228P / M428L / N434A) . In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the flanked Fc domain linker comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 105.
[0157] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing FD, and a second antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing a complement protein (e.g., C2, C5) , wherein the first antibody moiety comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety comprises a VH1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and a VL1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is an scFv, such as an scFv comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 or 10. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is fused to the N-terminus of the second antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is fused to the C-terminus of the second antibody moiety. In some embodiments, there is a peptide linker and / or an Fc domain connecting the first antibody moiety and the second antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the peptide linker is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41.
[0158] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first antibody moiety that specifically recognizing FD, and a second antibody moiety that specifically recognizing C2 (hereinafter also referred to as “anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific construct” ) . In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing FD, and a second antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing C2; wherein the first antibody moiety comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing FD, and a second antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing C2; wherein the second antibody moiety comprises: i) an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16; or ii) an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing FD, and a second antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing C2; wherein the first antibody moiety comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6; and wherein the second antibody moiety comprises: i) an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16; or ii) an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety comprises a VH1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and a VL1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is an scFv, such as an scFv comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 or 10. In some embodiments, the second antibody moiety comprises: i) a VH2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and a VL2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18; or ii) a VH2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and a VL2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second antibody moiety is an scFv, such as an scFv comprising the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 19, 20, 29, and 30. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is N-terminal to the second antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is C-terminal to the second antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is linked directly to the second antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is linked to the second antibody moiety via a peptide linker (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 76) . In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is linked to the second antibody moiety via an Fc domain (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 41 or 105) .
[0159] Thus, in some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH1-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO 19 or 29. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 63.
[0160] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL1-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5; and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 20 or 30. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 106.
[0161] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH1-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 20 or 30. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 67.
[0162] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL1-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 19 or 29. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 108.
[0163] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH1-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 19 or 29. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 65. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 65.
[0164] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL1-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 20 or 30. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 53. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 53.
[0165] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH1-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 20 or 30. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 69. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 69.
[0166] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL1-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 19 or 29. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 52. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 52.
[0167] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH2-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 19 or 29. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2; and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4; an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5; and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 77.
[0168] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL2-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 20 or 30. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 81.
[0169] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1 and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH2-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L- CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 19 or 29. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 43 or 45.
[0170] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL2-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 20 or 30. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 42 or 44.
[0171] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH2-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 19 or 29. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 78. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 78.
[0172] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL2-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 20 or 30. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 82. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 82.
[0173] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH2-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 19 or 29. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprises amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 54. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 54.
[0174] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C2 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL2-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 20 or 30. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 51 or 55. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 51 or 55.
[0175] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first antibody moiety that specifically recognizing FD and a second antibody moiety that specifically recognizing C5 (hereinafter also referred to as “anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct” ) . In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing FD, and a second antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing C5; wherein the first antibody moiety comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing FD, and a second antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing C5; wherein the second antibody moiety comprises: an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing FD, and a second antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) that specifically recognizing C5; wherein the first antibody moiety comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6; and wherein the second antibody moiety comprises: an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety comprises a VH1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and a VL1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is an scFv, such as an scFv comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 or 10. In some embodiments, the second antibody moiety comprises a VH2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and a VL2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second antibody moiety is an scFv, such as an scFv comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39 or 40. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is N-terminal to the second antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is C-terminal to the second antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is linked directly to the second antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is linked to the second antibody moiety via a peptide linker (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 76) . In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is linked to the second antibody moiety via an Fc domain (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 41 or 105) .
[0176] Thus, in some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH1-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 71.
[0177] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL1-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 40. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 49.
[0178] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprises: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH1-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 40. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 73.
[0179] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprises: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL1-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 48.
[0180] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH1-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 72. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 72.
[0181] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL1-optional linker-VH1-optional linker--Fc-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 40. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 61. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 61.
[0182] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH1-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 40. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 74. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 74.
[0183] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL1-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL2. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 75. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 75.
[0184] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH2-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 85.
[0185] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL2-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 40. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 87.
[0186] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH2-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 50.
[0187] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL2-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 40. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 46 or 47.
[0188] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH2-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 86. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 86.
[0189] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL2-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VH1-optional linker-VL1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 40. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 88. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 88.
[0190] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH2-optional linker-VL2-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 62. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 62.
[0191] In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising: a first scFv specifically recognizing FD comprising a VH1 and a VL1, and a second scFv specifically recognizing C5 comprising a VH2 and a VL2, wherein the multispecific construct comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL2-optional linker-VH2-optional linker-Fc-optional linker-VL1-optional linker-VH1. In some embodiments, the one or more linkers are independently selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 76 and 93-95. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the second scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 40. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and the VL1 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the first scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, there is provided a multispecific construct comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 59. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises 2 polypeptide chains each comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 59.
[0192] Biological Properties of Multispecific Constructs
[0193] In some embodiments, the multispecific construct inhibits (e.g., inhibit at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) the AP. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct or use thereof preserves the ability of an individual to combat an infection through the CP and LP.
[0194] The AP is thought to be constitutively active at a low level due to spontaneous hydrolysis of C3 to form C3 (H2O) . C3 (H2O) behaves like C3b in that it can associate with fB, which make fB susceptible to fD cleavage and activation. The resultant C3 (H2O) Bb then cleaves C3 to produce C3b and C3a to initiate the AP cascade by forming the C3 convertase of the AP, C3bBb. As the initial C3 convertase generates increasing amounts of C3b, an amplification loop is established. It should be noted that because the CP and LP also generate C3b, wherein C3b can bind factor B and engages the AP, the AP amplification loop also participates in the CP and LP once these pathways are activated. Thus, the AP consists of two functional entities: an independent complement activation pathway that is unrelated to CP or LP, and an amplification process that does participate and contribute to the full manifestation of CP and LP. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct inhibits (e.g., inhibit at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) the amplification process or amplification loop.
[0195] In some embodiments, the activity of the AP that is inhibited using a method of the invention or the multispecific construct described herein is AP activation induced by one or more of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) , lipooligosaccharide (LOS) , pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) , and danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) . In some embodiments, the activity of the AP that is inhibited using a method of invention or the multispecific construct described herein is the generation of C3bBb protein complex. In some embodiments, the activity of the AP that is inhibited using a method of the invention or the multispecific construct described herein is FD-dependent.
[0196] In some embodiments, binding of the multispecific constructs described herein to FD is associated with a reduction (e.g., reducing at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) in the generation of C3bBb in the complement activation pathway in an intact organism (e.g., human) . In some embodiments, the multispecific construct inhibits (e.g., inhibits at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) LPS-induced C3b and / or C5b-9 deposition.
[0197] In some embodiments, the component of the complement pathway recognized by the second antibody moiety is also within the AP or regulates the AP, e.g., C3b, fB, fD, fH, or P. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct recognizing such AP component inhibits the AP at least about 20% (e.g., at least about any of 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 1-fold, 1.5-fold, 2-fold, 5-fold, 10-fold, or more) more than a same anti-FD antibody moiety in inhibiting the AP. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct recognizing such AP component inhibits LPS-induced C3b and / or C5b-9 deposition at least about 20% (e.g., at least about any of 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 1-fold, 1.5-fold, 2-fold, 5-fold, 10-fold, or more) more than a same anti-FD antibody moiety in inhibiting LPS-induced C3b and / or C5b-9 deposition.
[0198] In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific construct i) inhibits (e.g., inhibit at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) the CP and LP, such as about 50%to about 80%of the CP and LP, and ii) inhibits (e.g., inhibit at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) the AP. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific construct inhibits (e.g., inhibit at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) all of CP, LP, AP, and TP. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific construct inhibits (e.g., inhibits at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) IgM-, mannan-, and LPS-induced C3b and C5b-9 deposition. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific construct inhibits (e.g., inhibits at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) sheep RBC lysis and rabbit RBC lysis (e.g., induced by human serum) .
[0199] In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific construct inhibits the CP and / or LP (e.g., inhibiting sheep RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of at most about 50 nM, such as at most about any of 40 nM, 35 nM, 30 nM, 20 nM, 10 nM, 1 nM, or less. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific construct inhibits the CP and / or LP (e.g., inhibiting sheep RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of about 1 nM to about 50 nM, such as any of about 10 nM to about 50 nM, about 20 nM to about 30 nM, about 20 nM to about 40 nM, about 20 nM to about 35 nM, or about 24 nM to about 32 nM.
[0200] In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific construct inhibits the CP and / or LP (e.g., inhibiting sheep RBC lysis in 50%human serum) with an IC50 value of at most about 150 nM, such as at most about any of 120 nM, 110 nM, 100 nM, 90 nM, 80 nM, 70 nM, 60 nM, 50 nM, 40 nM, 35 nM, 30 nM, 20 nM, 10 nM, or less. In some embodiments, the anti- FD / anti-C2 multispecific construct inhibits the CP and / or LP (e.g., inhibiting sheep RBC lysis in 50%human serum) with an IC50 value of about 10 nM to about 150 nM, such as any of about 100 nM to about 150 nM, about 40 nM to about 120 nM, about 50 nM to about 100 nM, about 60 nM to about 100 nM, about 60 nM to about 70 nM, about 65 nM to about 95 nM, about 80 nM to about 100 nM, or about 80 nM to about 90 nM.
[0201] In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific construct inhibits the AP (e.g., inhibiting rabbit RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of at most about 20 nM, such as at most about any of 15 nM, 10 nM, 9 nM, 8 nM, 7 nM, 6 nM, 5 nM, 1 nM, or less. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific construct inhibits the AP (e.g., inhibiting rabbit RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of about 0.5 nM to about 20 nM, such as any of about 1 nM to about 20 nM, about 10 nM to about 20 nM, about 1 nM to about 10 nM, about 1 nM to about 5 nM, or about 5 nM to about 10 nM.
[0202] In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific construct inhibits the AP (e.g., inhibiting rabbit RBC lysis in 50%human serum) with an IC50 value of at most about 60 nM, such as at most about any of 50 nM, 40 nM, 30 nM, 25 nM, 20 nM, 15 nM, 10 nM, 9 nM, 8 nM, 7 nM, 6 nM, 5 nM, 1 nM, or less. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C2 multispecific construct inhibits the AP (e.g., inhibiting rabbit RBC lysis in 50%human serum) with an IC50 value of about 1 nM to about 60 nM, such as any of about 1 nM to about 20 nM, about 10 nM to about 60 nM, about 10 nM to about 40 nM, about 15 nM to about 30 nM, or about 15 nM to about 25 nM.
[0203] In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct i) inhibits (e.g., inhibit at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) the TP, and ii) inhibits (e.g., inhibit at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) the AP. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct inhibits (e.g., inhibits at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) IgM-, mannan-, and LPS-induced C5b-9 deposition. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct inhibits (e.g., inhibits at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) LPS-induced C3b deposition. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct does not inhibit (or inhibits at most about any of 10%, 5%, 2%, 1%, or less) IgM-induced or mannan-induced C3b deposition. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct inhibits (e.g., inhibits at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) sheep RBC lysis and rabbit RBC lysis (e.g., induced by human serum) .
[0204] In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct inhibits the CP (e.g., inhibiting sheep RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of at most about 150 nM, such as at most about any of 120 nM, 100 nM, 90 nM, 80 nM, 70 nM, 60 nM, 50 nM, 40 nM, 35 nM, 30 nM, 20 nM, 10 nM, or less. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct inhibits the CP (e.g., inhibiting sheep RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of about 10 nM to about 150 nM, such as any of about 10 nM to about 100 nM, about 40 nM to about 120 nM, about 50 nM to about 100 nM, about 60 nM to about 100 nM, about 70 nM to about 90 nM, about 80 nM to about 100 nM, or about 80 nM to about 90 nM.
[0205] In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct inhibits the CP (e.g., inhibiting sheep RBC lysis in 50%human serum) with an IC50 value of at most about 450 nM, such as at most about any of 400 nM, 300 nM, 250 nM, 200 nM, 100 nM, 90 nM, 80 nM, 70 nM, 60 nM, 50 nM, 10 nM, or less. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct inhibits the CP (e.g., inhibiting sheep RBC lysis in 50%human serum) with an IC50 value of about 50 nM to about 450 nM, such as any of about 100 nM to about 300 nM, about 50 nM to about 250 nM, about 150 nM to about 400 nM, about 200 nM to about 300 nM, or about 200 nM to about 250 nM.
[0206] In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct inhibits the AP (e.g., inhibiting rabbit RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of at most about 20 nM, such as at most about any of 15 nM, 10 nM, 9 nM, 8 nM, 7 nM, 6 nM, 5 nM, 1 nM, or less. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct inhibits the AP (e.g., inhibiting rabbit RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of about 0.5 nM to about 20 nM, such as any of about 1 nM to about 20 nM, about 10 nM to about 20 nM, about 1 nM to about 10 nM, about 1 nM to about 5 nM, or about 5 nM to about 10 nM.
[0207] In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct inhibits the AP (e.g., inhibiting rabbit RBC lysis in 50%human serum) with an IC50 value of at most about 60 nM, such as at most about any of 50 nM, 40 nM, 30 nM, 25 nM, 20 nM, 15 nM, 10 nM, 9 nM, 8 nM, 7 nM, 6 nM, 5 nM, 1 nM, or less. In some embodiments, the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct inhibits the AP (e.g., inhibiting rabbit RBC lysis in 50%human serum) with an IC50 value of about 1 nM to about 60 nM, such as any of about 1 nM to about 20 nM, about 10 nM to about 60 nM, about 10 nM to about 40 nM, about 15 nM to about 30 nM, or about 20 nM to about 25 nM.
[0208] In some embodiments, the activity of the complement pathway that is inhibited by an anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct described herein is complement pathway activation induced by one or more of LPS, LOS, PAMPs, and DAMPs. In some embodiments, the activity of complement signaling that is inhibited by the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct is the generation of C5a protein, the generation of C5b protein, and / or the formation of MAC. In some embodiments, the activity of the complement pathway that is inhibited by anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct is C5-dependent.
[0209] In some embodiments, binding of the anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific construct to C5 (e.g., human C5) is associated with a reduction (e.g., reducing at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) in the generation of C5a or C5b and the formation of MAC in the complement activation pathway in an intact organism (e.g., human) .
[0210] Methods of testing the activities of the multispecific construct described herein, such as inhibition of one or more of AP, CP, LP, and TP, are well known in the art, including but not limited to, rabbit RBC lysis assay (e.g., induced by human serum) , sheep RBC lysis assay (e.g., induced by human serum) , IgM-induced C3b and / or C5b-9 deposition assay, mannan-induced C3b and / or C5b-9 deposition assay, or LPS-induced C3b and / or C5b-9 deposition assay. See, e.g., assays in US11434279, PCT / CN2023 / 073730, US20220204602, US20220177556, US11578137, WO2022134047, and PCT / US2023 / 063305, the content of each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Also see Examples 2-3 herein.
[0211] Anti-FD Antibody Moiety (first antibody moiety)
[0212] The anti-FD antibody moieties of the multispecific constructs described in the present application include any antibody moieties that specifically bind to FD. For example, any of the anti-FD antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof described in US11434279 (the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) , such as 11-8A1 or 1F10-5, can be used in the anti-FD antibody moieties described herein.
[0213] Factor D, also known as adipsin, is a 24 kDa serine protease comprising 228 amino acids. The structure of factor D comprises of two antiparallel β-barrel domains with each barrel containing six β-strands with the same typology in all enzymes. Unlike most proteins of the complement system, which are synthesized by the liver and immune cells, factor D is predominantly produced by and secreted into the bloodstream by adipocytes. However, it is also synthesized by macrophages and monocytes, as well as by brain astrocytes to a lesser extent. The levels of factor D in serum can vary, but under normal conditions it is found within the range of 1-2 μg / mL range. Under healthy conditions, factor D, like other low molecular weight proteins, is filtered through the glomerulus and almost completely reabsorbed within the tubules, where it is then rapidly catabolized intracellularly.
[0214] Factor D is produced as a proenzyme or zymogen (pro-factor D) that requires subsequent cleavage of a 6-amino acid peptide for maturation. Conversion of pro-factor D into its mature form appears to happen rapidly, either during secretion in the secretory pathway or immediately thereafter. Although there has been some controversy, maturation of pro-factor D into mature factor D is thought to occur predominantly through the action of activated mannose-binding lectin-associated serine protease-3 (MASP-3) , one of the MASPs thought to play a role in the lectin pathway. Despite the need for enzyme-mediated maturation, however, factor D predominantly exists in its mature form in resting blood, likely because MASP-3 has no physiological inhibitors.
[0215] With mature factor D being the predominant form in resting blood, and because it has no known endogenous inhibitors itself, a high level of control is essential to prevent it from inappropriately cleaving endogenous proteins other than its substrate. As such, mature factor D is locked into an inactive state by a self-inhibitory loop. This loop dictates the enzyme’s low reactivity and extreme specificity for its substrate, factor B. Importantly, factor B can only be cleaved by factor D when factor B is bound to C3b or C3 (H2O) . Upon binding to and cleaving factor B, factor D is not permanently incorporated into the complex but is instead recycled in a reversible reaction. Accordingly, the kidney plays an important role in regulating the concentration of factor D via glomerular filtration. In addition to host defense against pathogens, the alternative pathway and factor D have been implicated in various other physiological processes. For example, C3b-mediated opsonization is known to be responsible for marking damaged liver cells for removal by phagocytes after acute liver injury. This process enables a scaffold for newly formed cells to develop and helps to prevent persistent inflammation. The alternative pathway and factor D have been shown to be essential in this process. Nonetheless, a fine balance in the level of activation of the alternative pathway is required because an overactive complement cascade is also known to cause extensive hepatic cell death, persistent inflammation, and injury to the liver.
[0216] More recently, factor D has also been implicated in the aging process of the skin. During aging, it is known that the extracellular matrix of the dermal layer deteriorates as the quantity of senescent cells increases. Expression in human skin samples was higher in older subjects than in younger subjects. Another tissue in which factor D plays a role is adipose tissue. Adipocytes are energy reservoirs that play an important role in energy balance. Not only are they responsible for lipolysis but they are also involved in glucose uptake and triglyceride synthesis. Interestingly, factor D is not the only component of the complement system that is produced in adipose tissue. Other factors, including C3 and factor B, are also expressed to some degree in this tissue, where they have been found to activate the proximal part of the alternative pathway (i.e., upstream of C5 cleavage) in the absence of pathogens. In fact, factor D has been shown to be important for adipocyte differentiation and lipid accumulation via C3a signaling. In contrast, no activation of the terminal or lytic part of the pathway is observed, because proteins such as C5 are not expressed in adipose tissue. As part of their role in energy homeostasis, adipocytes also have endocrine function. In response to certain stimuli, they secrete regulatory molecules that play a role in the metabolic function of other tissues. These regulatory molecules include fatty acids and adipokines such as factor D. It has been shown that by controlling the production of C3a via the alternative pathway, factor D indirectly induces insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells when glucose levels are elevated. Furthermore, factor D / C3a signaling has been found to preserve islet beta cells by blocking cell dedifferentiation and death. It has even been shown that higher levels of circulating factor D are associated with a lower risk of developing diabetes in middle-aged adults.
[0217] Deficiency in components of the proximal part of the alternative pathway, such as factor D, can lead to an inability to opsonize invading pathogens and to insufficient formation of the MAC. This ultimately limits both phagocytosis and lysis of the invaders. As such, it is not surprising that complete deficiency of factor D has been identified as a risk factor for serious bacterial infections. For example, complete factor D deficiency due to a Ser42Stop mutation in both alleles of the gene was observed in a Dutch individual suffering from meningitis. The complete factor D deficiency was linked with a decreased ability to opsonize and phagocytose bacteria and was also observed in other family members. Other case studies have also found factor D deficiencies to be associated with N. gonorrhoeae and with various respiratory infections. Although the underlying factor D mutations are not always the same, they likely result in an unstable protein or an abnormally folded protein that cannot be secreted. Mutations in both alleles are required for complete factor D deficiency, and therefore the mode of inheritance is autosomal recessive.
[0218] The anti-FD antibody moiety can specifically bind to FD derived from any source, such as any organism that has a complement system, including but not limited to, dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, horses, rats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, mice, and humans. In some embodiments, the FD is human FD. In some embodiments, the FD is cynomolgus monkey FD.
[0219] In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety binds to human FD. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety has cross-species reactivity to FD other than human FD.Exemplary non-human FD include, but are not limited to, mouse FD, rat FD, rabbit FD, sheep FD, and cynomolgus monkey FD. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety cross-reacts with cynomolgus monkey FD. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety does not cross-react with murine FD.
[0220] The anti-FD antibody moiety can be any suitable format known in the art. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety is selected from the group consisting of full-length antibody, Fab, Fab’ , F (ab’ ) 2, scFv, sdAb, and a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety comprises an sdAb that binds to FD. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety is a full-length antibody, such as a full-length antibody comprising an Fc fragment derived from IgG4 (e.g., an IgG4 Fc comprising a PLA mutation, such as SEQ ID NO: 41) . In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety comprises (or consists essentially of, or consists of) an anti-FD scFv. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety is murine, chimeric, humanized, or human antibody. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety is monospecific. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety is multispecific. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety is monovalent. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety is multivalent.
[0221] In some embodiments, the binding of the anti-FD antibody moiety to FD (e.g., human FD) is pH-dependent, and wherein the anti-FD antibody moiety binds more strongly to FD at a neutral pH (e.g., about pH 7.4; such as that found in the blood) than it does at an acidic pH (e.g., about pH 5.8; such as that found in the endosome) . In some embodiments, the binding affinity of the pH-dependent anti-FD antibody moiety to FD (e.g., human FD) at about pH 7.4 is at least about 3 times (such as at least about any of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or more) times higher than the binding affinity of the pH-dependent anti-FD antibody moiety to FD (e.g., human FD) at about pH 5.8.
[0222] In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety (also referred to as the first antibody moiety) comprises i) a VH1 comprising an H-CDR1, an H-CDR2, and an H-CDR3, respectively comprising the amino acid sequence of an H-CDR1, an H-CDR2, and an H-CDR3 within a reference VH having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 7, and ii) a VL1 comprising an L-CDR1, an L-CDR2, and an L-CDR3, respectively comprising the amino acid sequence of an L-CDR1, an L-CDR2, and an L-CDR3 within a reference VL having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the affinity of such anti-FD antibody moiety for FD (e.g., human FD) is comparable (e.g., the same as, or within about 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1-fold difference) to that of a reference antibody comprising a VH comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and a VL comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8.
[0223] In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety or the first antibody moiety comprises: (i) a VH1 comprising an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; and (ii) a VL1 comprising an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) . In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety or the first antibody moiety comprises (i) a VH1 comprising an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; and (ii) a VL1 comprising an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6.
[0224] In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety or the first antibody moiety comprises a VH1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80% (e.g., at least about any of 80%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 7; and a VL1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80% (e.g., at least about any of 80%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in VH1, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in VL1.
[0225] In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the H-CDR1, and / or the H-CDR2, and / or the H-CDR3; and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the L-CDR1, and / or the L-CDR2, and / or the L-CDR3. In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the H-CDR1 and / or the H-CDR2; and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the L-CDR1 and / or the L-CDR2.
[0226] In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the framework region, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the framework region.
[0227] In some embodiments, the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, or a variant thereof comprising amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in both CDRs and FRs, and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8, or a variant thereof comprising amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in both CDRs and FRs.
[0228] In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety or the first antibody moiety comprises a VH1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and a VL1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8.
[0229] In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety or the first antibody moiety is an scFv. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety or the first antibody moiety comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH1-optional linker-VL1. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety or the first antibody moiety comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety or the first antibody moiety comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL1-optional linker-VH1. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety or the first antibody moiety comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10.
[0230] Anti-FD Antibody Moiety Biological Properties
[0231] In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moieties described herein inhibit (e.g., inhibit at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) the AP, but do not inhibit (or inhibit at most about any of 10%, 5%, 2%, 1%, or less) the activation of CP or LP. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moieties described herein or uses thereof preserve the ability of an individual to combat an infection through the CP and LP.
[0232] In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moieties described herein inhibit (e.g., inhibit at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) the amplification process or amplification loop.
[0233] In some embodiments, the IC50 value of the anti-FD antibody moiety in inhibiting the CP and / or LP (e.g., inhibiting sheep RBC lysis in 20%human serum) is undetectable.
[0234] In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety inhibits the AP (e.g., inhibiting rabbit RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of at most about 50 nM, such as at most about any of 40 nM, 30 nM, 20 nM, 15 nM, 10 nM, 9 nM, 8 nM, 7 nM, 6 nM, 5 nM, 1 nM, or less. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety inhibits the AP (e.g., inhibiting rabbit RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of about 0.5 nM to about 50 nM, such as any of about 1 nM to about 20 nM, about 10 nM to about 20 nM, about 5 nM to about 15 nM, about 1 nM to about 10 nM, about 1 nM to about 5 nM, or about 5 nM to about 10 nM.
[0235] In some embodiments, the activity of the AP that is inhibited using a method of the invention or the anti-FD antibody moiety is AP activation induced by one or more of LPS, LOS, PAMPs, and DAMPs. In some embodiments, the activity of the AP that is inhibited using a method of invention or the anti-FD antibody moiety is the generation of C3bBb protein complex. In some embodiments, the activity of the AP that is inhibited using a method of invention or the anti-FD antibody moiety is FD-dependent.
[0236] In some embodiments, binding of the anti-FD antibody moiety to FD is associated with a reduction (e.g., reducing at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) in the generation of C3bBb in the complement activation pathway in an intact organism (e.g., human) . In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety inhibits (e.g., inhibits at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) LPS-induced C3b and / or C5b-9 deposition. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety does not inhibit (or inhibit at most about any of 10%, 5%, 2%, 1%, or less) IgM-induced or mannan-induced C3b and / or C5b-9 deposition.
[0237] Methods of testing the activities (e.g., inhibition of the AP) of anti-FD antibodies or antigen-binding fragments thereof are well known in the art, including but not limited to, rabbit RBC lysis assay (e.g., induced by human serum) , or LPS-induced C3b and / or C5b-9 deposition assay. See, e.g., assays in US11434279. Also see Examples 2-3 herein.
[0238] Anti-complement protein moiety (second antibody moiety)
[0239] The second antibody moiety described herein specifically recognizes a complement protein, e.g., a complement protein other than FD.
[0240] The complement system plays an important role in the pathology of many autoimmune, inflammatory, and ischemic diseases. Inappropriate complement activation and its deposition on host cells can lead to complement-mediated lysis and / or injury of cells and target tissues, as well as tissue destruction due to the generation of powerful mediators of inflammation. The complement system, also known as complement cascade, is a part of the immune system that enhances (complements) the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear microbes and damaged cells from an organism, promote inflammation, and attack the pathogen's cell membrane. It is part of the innate immune system, which is not adaptable and does not change during an individual's lifetime. The complement system can, however, be recruited and brought into action by antibodies generated by the adaptive immune system.
[0241] Without being bound by any theory or hypothesis, there are three known complement pathways: the alternative complement pathway (AP) , the classical pathway (CP) , and the lectin pathway (LP) . Generally, the CP is initiated by antigen-antibody complexes, the LP is activated by binding of lectins to sugar molecules on microbial surfaces, while the AP is constitutively active at a low level but can be quickly amplified on bacterial, viral, and parasitic cell surfaces due to the lack of regulatory proteins. Host cells are usually protected from AP complement activation by regulatory proteins. But in some situations, such as when the regulatory proteins are defective or missing, the AP can also be activated uncontrollably on host cells, leading to complement-mediated disease or disorder. The CP consists of components C1, C2, and C4, and converges with the AP at the C3 activation step. The LP consists of mannose-binding lectins (MBLs) and MBL-associated serine proteases (MASPs) and shares with the CP the components C4 and C2. The AP consists of components C3 and several factors, such as factor B, factor D, properdin, and the fluid phase regulator factor H. Complement activation consists of three stages: (a) recognition, (b) enzymatic activation, and (c) membrane attack leading to cell death. The first phase of CP complement activation begins with C1. C1 is made up of three distinct proteins: a recognition subunit, C1q, and the serine protease subcomponents, C1r and C1s, which are bound together in a calcium-dependent tetrameric complex, C1r2 s2. An intact C1 complex is necessary for physiological activation of C1 to result. Activation occurs when the intact C1 complex binds to immunoglobulin complexed with antigen. This binding activates C1s which then cleaves both the C4 and C2 proteins to generate C4a and C4b, as well as C2a and C2b. The C4b and C2a fragments combine to form the C3 convertase, C4b2a, which in turn cleaves C3 to form C3a and C3b. Activation of the LP is initiated by MBL binding to certain sugars on the target surface and this triggers the activation of MBL-associated serine proteases (MASPs) which then cleave C4 and C2 in a manner analogous to the activity of C1s of the CP, resulting in the generation of the C3 convertase, C4b2a. Thus, the CP and LP are activated by different mechanisms but they share the same components C4 and C2 and both pathways lead to the generation of the same C3 convertase, C4b2a. The cleavage of C3 by C4b2a into C3b and C3a is a central event of the complement pathway for two reasons. It initiates the AP amplification loop because surface deposited C3b is a central intermediate of the AP C3 convertase C3bBb. Both C3a and C3b are biologically important. C3a is proinflammatory and together with C5a are referred to as anaphylatoxins. C3b and its further cleavage products also bind to complement receptors present on neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes and macrophages, thereby facilitating phagocytosis and clearance of C3b-opsonized particles. Finally, C3b can associate with C4b2a or C3bBb to form the C5 convertase of the CP and LP, and AP, respectively, to activate the terminal complement sequence, leading to the production of C5a, a potent proinflammatory mediator, and the assembly of the lytic membrane attack complex (MAC) , C5-C9.
[0242] Defective complement action is a cause of several human glomerular diseases including atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) , anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody mediated vasculitis (ANCA) , C3 glomerulopathy, IgA nephropathy, immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, renal ischemic reperfusion injury, lupus nephritis, membranous nephropathy, and chronic transplant mediated glomerulopathy. Aberrant complement component activation has been proposed as markers in various types of cancers and their clinical outcomes. Lung cancer patients show significantly higher plasma levels of complement proteins and activation fragments than do control donors, and elevated complement levels are correlated with lung tumor size. Complement-related proteins are also elevated in biological fluids from patients with other types of tumors. See, for example, Pio et al. Semin Immunol. 2013 Feb; 25 (1) : 54-64. Inhibition of the complement cascade has been proposed for glomerular diseases and cancer treatment.
[0243] Complement component 2 (C2)
[0244] In some embodiments, the complement protein the second antibody moiety binds to is complement component 2 (C2) . Any anti-C2 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof described in PCT / CN2023 / 073730 (the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) can be used in the anti-C2 antibody moieties described herein.
[0245] The anti-C2 antibody moiety can specifically bind to C2 derived from any source, such as any organism that has a complement system, including but not limited to, dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, horses, rats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, mice, and humans. In some embodiments, the C2 is murine C2. In some embodiments, the C2 is human C2.
[0246] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety binds to C2. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety binds to C2a. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety has cross-species reactivity to C2 other than human C2, and / or to C2a other than human C2a. Exemplary non-human C2 and C2a include, but are not limited to, mouse C2 and C2a, rat C2 and C2a, rabbit C2 and C2a, sheep C2 and C2a, cynomolgus monkey C2 and C2a. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety cross-reacts with cynomolgus C2 and / or C2a.
[0247] Human C2 is an 83 kDa protein (100 kDa glycosylated) that is produced as an inactive, heavily glycosylated zymogen consisting of five domains: three N-terminal complement-control-protein (CCP) domains, a von Willebrand factor A-type (VWA) domain, and a C-terminal trypsin-like serine proteinase (SP) domain. The last two domains, VWA and SP, form the C2a fragment (residues 224-732, 70 kDa) that is produced in the proteolytic activation cascade of the classical and lectin pathways. The larger fragment C2a is 57.4 kDa (70 kDa glycosylated) and provides the catalytic center to the convertase complexes of the classical and lectin-binding pathways of complement activation. C2 bound to C4b is cleaved by classical (C1s) or lectin (MASP2) proteases to produce C4bC2a, a very short-lived C3 convertase that in turn cleaves C3 to C3a and C3b, leading ultimately to formation of Membrane Attack Complex (MAC) and lysis of bacteria and damaged cells. C2 has the same serine protease domain as C4bC2a but in an inactive zymogen-like conformation, requiring cofactor-induced conformational change for activity.
[0248] The anti-C2 antibody moiety can be any suitable format known in the art. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety is selected from the group consisting of full-length antibody, Fab, Fab’ , F (ab’ ) 2, scFv, sdAb, and a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises an sdAb that binds to C2. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety is a full-length antibody, such as a full-length antibody comprising an Fc fragment derived from IgG4 (e.g., an IgG4 Fc comprising a PLA mutation, such as SEQ ID NO: 41) . In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises (or consists essentially of, or consists of) an anti-C2 scFv. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety is murine, chimeric, humanized, or human antibody. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety is monospecific. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety is multispecific. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety is monovalent. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety is multivalent.
[0249] In some embodiments, the binding of the anti-C2 antibody moiety to C2 (e.g., human C2) is pH-dependent, and wherein the anti-C2 antibody moiety binds more strongly to C2 at a neutral pH (e.g., about pH 7.4; such as that found in the blood) than it does at an acidic pH (e.g., about pH 5.8; such as that found in the endosome) . In some embodiments, the binding affinity of the pH-dependent anti-C2 antibody moiety to C2 (e.g., human C2) at about pH 7.4 is at least about 3 times (such as at least about any of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or more) times higher than the binding affinity of the pH-dependent anti-C2 antibody moiety to C2 (e.g., human C2) at about pH 5.8.
[0250] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety (also referred to as the second antibody moiety) comprises i) a VH2 comprising an H-CDR1, an H-CDR2, and an H-CDR3, respectively comprising the amino acid sequence of an H-CDR1, an H-CDR2, and an H-CDR3 within a reference VH having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 17, and ii) a VL2 comprising an L-CDR1, an L-CDR2, and an L-CDR3, respectively comprising the amino acid sequence of an L-CDR1, an L-CDR2, and an L-CDR3 within a reference VL having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the affinity of such anti-C2 antibody moiety for C2 (e.g., human C2) is comparable (e.g., the same as, or within about 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1-fold difference) to that of a reference antibody comprising a VH comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and a VL comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18.
[0251] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises: (i) a VH2 comprising an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; and (ii) a VL2 comprising an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) . In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises: (i) a VH2 comprising an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and (ii) a VL2 comprising an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16.
[0252] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises a VH2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%(including for example at least about any of 80%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 17; and a VL2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80% (e.g., at least about any of 80%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 18. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in VH2, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in VL2.
[0253] In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the H-CDR1, and / or the H-CDR2, and / or the H-CDR3; and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the L-CDR1, and / or the L-CDR2, and / or the L-CDR3. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the H-CDR1 and / or the H-CDR2; and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the L-CDR1 and / or the L-CDR2.
[0254] In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the framework region, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the framework region.
[0255] In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, or a variant thereof comprising amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in both CDRs and FRs, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18, or a variant thereof comprising amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in both CDRs and FRs.
[0256] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises a VH2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and a VL2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18.
[0257] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety is an scFv. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH2-optional linker-VL2. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 19. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL2-optional linker-VH2. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 20.
[0258] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety (also referred to as the second antibody moiety) comprises i) a VH2 comprising an H-CDR1, an H-CDR2, and an H-CDR3, respectively comprising the amino acid sequence of an H-CDR1, an H-CDR2, and an H-CDR3 within a reference VH having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 27, and ii) a VL2 comprising an L-CDR1, an L-CDR2, and an L-CDR3, respectively comprising the amino acid sequence of an L-CDR1, an L-CDR2, and an L-CDR3 within a reference VL having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the affinity of such anti-C2 antibody moiety for C2 (e.g., human C2) is comparable (e.g., the same as, or within about 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1-fold difference) to that of a reference antibody comprising a VH comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and a VL comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28.
[0259] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises: (i) a VH2 comprising an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; and (ii) a VL2 comprising an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) . In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises (i) a VH2 comprising an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23; and (ii) a VL2 comprising an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26.
[0260] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises a VH2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80% (e.g., at least about any of 80%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 27; and a VL2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80% (e.g., at least about any of 80%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 28. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in VH2, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in VL2.
[0261] In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any one of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the H-CDR1, and / or the H-CDR2, and / or the H-CDR3; and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any one of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the L-CDR1, and / or the L-CDR2, and / or the L-CDR3. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any one of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the H-CDR1 and / or the H-CDR2; and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any one of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the L-CDR1 and / or the L-CDR2.
[0262] In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the framework region, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the framework region.
[0263] In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, or a variant thereof comprising amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in both CDRs and FRs, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28, or a variant thereof comprising amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in both CDRs and FRs.
[0264] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises a VH2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27, and a VL2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28.
[0265] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety is an scFv. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH2-optional linker-VL2. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 29. In some embodiments, the second antibody moiety comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VL2-optional linker-VH2. In some embodiments, the second antibody moiety comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 30.
[0266] Anti-C2 Antibody Moiety Biological Properties
[0267] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moieties described herein inhibit (e.g., inhibit at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or more) the CP and / or LP. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moieties described herein inhibit no more than about 70% (e.g., no more than about any of 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, 10%, or less) of the CP and / or LP. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety does not inhibit (or inhibits at most about any of 10%, 5%, 2%, 1%, or less) the activation of AP. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety inhibits about 50%to about 80%of the CP and / or LP.
[0268] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety inhibits the CP and / or LP (e.g. inhibiting sheep RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of at most about 100 nM, such as at most about any of 90 nM, 80 nM, 70 nM, 60 nM, 50 nM, 40 nM, 35 nM, 30 nM, 20 nM, 10 nM, 1 nM, or less. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety inhibits the CP and / or LP pathway (e.g., inhibiting sheep RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of about 1 nM to about 100 nM, such as any of about 1 nM to about 50 nM, about 10 nM to about 40 nM, about 20 nM to about 80 nM, about 20 nM to about 50 nM, or about 20 nM to about 35 nM .
[0269] In some embodiments, the IC50 value of the anti-C2 antibody moiety in inhibiting the AP (e.g., inhibiting rabbit RBC lysis in 20%human serum) is undetectable.
[0270] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety inhibits (e.g., inhibits at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) IgM-induced and / or mannan-induced C3b and / or C5b-9 deposition. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety does not inhibit (or inhibit at most about any of 10%, 5%, 2%, 1%, or less) LPS-induced C3b and / or C5b-9 deposition.
[0271] Methods of testing the activities (e.g., inhibition of the CP and / or LP) of anti-C2 antibodies or antigen-binding fragments thereof are well known in the art, including but not limited to, sheep RBC lysis assay (e.g., induced by human serum) , IgM-induced C3b or C5b-9 deposition assay, or mannan-induced C3b or C5b-9 deposition assay. See, e.g., assays in PCT / CN2023 / 073730. Also see Examples 2-3 herein.
[0272] Complement component 5 (C5)
[0273] In some embodiments, the complement protein the second antibody moiety binds to is complement component 5 (C5) . Any anti-C5 antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof described in US20220204602, US20220177556, US11578137, WO2022134047, and PCT / US2023 / 063305 can be used in the anti-C5 antibody moieties described herein, the content of each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
[0274] The anti-C5 antibody moiety can specifically bind to C5 derived from any source, such as any organism that has a complement system, including but not limited to, dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, horses, rats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, mice, and humans. In some embodiments, the C5 is murine C5. In some embodiments, the C5 is human C5.
[0275] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety binds to C5. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety binds to C5b. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety has cross-species reactivity to C5 other than human C5, and / or to C5b other than human C5b. Exemplary non-human C5 and C5b include, but are not limited to, mouse C5 and C5b, rat C5 and C5b, rabbit C5 and C5b, sheep C5 and C5b, cynomolgus monkey C5 and C5b. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety cross-reacts with cynomolgus C5 and / or C5b. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety does not bind to C5a.
[0276] The C5 gene encodes a preproprotein is proteolytically processed to generate multiple protein products, including the C5 alpha chain, C5 beta chain, C5a anaphylatoxin and C5b. Human C5 is a 188 kDa protein that is comprised of the C5 alpha and beta chains, which are linked by a disulfide bridge. Cleavage of the alpha chain by a convertase enzyme results in the formation of the C5a anaphylatoxin, which possesses potent spasmogenic and chemotactic activity, and the C5b macromolecular cleavage product. The C5b macromolecular cleavage product can form a complex with the complement component C6, which then becomes the membrane attack complex (MAC) . Mutations in this gene cause complement component 5 deficiency, a disease characterized by recurrent bacterial infections.
[0277] The anti-C5 antibody moiety can be any suitable format known in the art. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is selected from the group consisting of full-length antibody, Fab, Fab’ , F (ab’ ) 2, scFv, sdAb, and a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises an sdAb that binds to C5. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is a full-length antibody, such as a full-length antibody comprising an Fc fragment derived from IgG4 (e.g., an IgG4 Fc comprising a PLA mutation, such as SEQ ID NO: 41) . In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises (or consists essentially of, or consists of) an anti-C5 scFv. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is murine, chimeric, humanized, or human antibody. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is monospecific. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is multispecific. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is monovalent. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is multivalent.
[0278] In some embodiments, the binding of the anti-C5 antibody moiety to C5 (e.g., human C5) is pH-dependent, and wherein the anti-C5 antibody moiety binds more strongly to C5 at a neutral pH (e.g., about pH 7.4; such as that found in the blood) than it does at an acidic pH (e.g., about pH 5.8; such as that found in the endosome) . In some embodiments, the binding affinity of the pH-dependent anti-C5 antibody moiety to C5 (e.g., human C5) at about pH 7.4 is at least about 3 times (such as at least about any of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or more) times higher than the binding affinity of the pH-dependent anti-C5 antibody moiety to C5 (e.g., human C5) at about pH 5.8.
[0279] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety binds to an epitope in the α-chain of C5, and / or an epitope in the β-chain of C5.
[0280] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety (also referred to as the second antibody moiety) comprises a VH2 comprising an H-CDR1, an H-CDR2, and an H-CDR3, respectively comprising the amino acid sequence of an H-CDR1, an H-CDR2, and an H-CDR3 within a reference VH having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 37, and VL2 comprising an L-CDR1, an L-CDR2, and an L-CDR3, respectively comprising the amino acid sequence of an L-CDR1, an L-CDR2, and an L-CDR3 within a reference VL having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the affinity of such anti-C5 antibody moiety for C5 (e.g., human C5) is comparable (e.g., the same as, or within about 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1-fold difference) to that of a reference antibody comprising a VH comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and a VL comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38.
[0281] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises: (i) a VH2 comprising an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; and (ii) a VL2 comprising an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) ; and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) . In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises (i) a VH2 comprising an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33; and (ii) a VL2 comprising an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36.
[0282] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises a VH2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80% (e.g., at least about any of 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 37; and a VL2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80% (e.g., at least about any of 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in VH2, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in VL2.
[0283] In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any one of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the H-CDR1, and / or the H-CDR2, and / or the H-CDR3; and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any one of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the L-CDR1, and / or the L-CDR2, and / or the L-CDR3. In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any one of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the H-CDR1 and / or the H-CDR2; and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 (such as any one of 1, 2, or 3) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the L-CDR1 and / or the L-CDR2.
[0284] In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the framework region, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38, or a variant thereof comprising up to 10 (such as any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10) amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in the framework region.
[0285] In some embodiments, the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, or a variant thereof comprising amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in both CDRs and FRs, and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38, or a variant thereof comprising amino acid variations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and / or substitutions, such as conserved substitutions) in both CDRs and FRs.
[0286] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises a VH2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and a VL2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38.
[0287] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is an scFv. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises, from N-terminus to C-terminus: VH2-optional linker-VL2. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises, from N- terminus to C-terminus: VL2-optional linker-VH2. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 40.
[0288] Anti-C5 Antibody Moiety Biological Properties
[0289] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moieties described herein inhibit (e.g., inhibit at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) the downstream effects of activation of the AP, the CP, and / or the LP.
[0290] In some embodiments, the activity of the complement pathway that is inhibited by an anti-C5 antibody moiety described herein is complement pathway activation induced by one or more of LPS, LOS, PAMPs, and DAMPs. In some embodiments, the activity of complement signaling that is inhibited by the anti-C5 antibody moiety is the generation of C5a protein, the generation of C5b protein, and / or the formation of MAC. In some embodiments, the activity of the complement pathway that is inhibited by the anti-C5 antibody moiety is C5-dependent.
[0291] In some embodiments, binding of the anti-C5 antibody moieties described herein to C5 (e.g., human C5) is associated with a reduction (e.g., reducing at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) in the generation of C5a or C5b and the formation of MAC in the complement activation pathway in an intact organism (e.g., human) .
[0292] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety inhibits the CP and / or LP and / or AP and / or TP (terminal pathway) (e.g., inhibiting sheep RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of at most about 150 nM, such as at most about any of 120 nM, 100 nM, 95 nM, 90 nM, 85 nM, 80 nM, 75 nM, 70 nM, 60 nM, 50 nM, 40 nM, 30 nM, 20 nM, 10 nM, or less. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety inhibits the CP and / or LP and / or AP and / or TP (e.g., inhibiting sheep RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of about 1 nM to about 150 nM, such as any of about 100 nM to about 150 nM, about 1 nM to about 100 nM, about 50 nM to about 100 nM, about 40 nM to about 120 nM, about 60 nM to about 120 nM, about 70 nM to about 100 nM, about 80 nM to about 100 nM, or about 80 nM to about 90 nM. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety inhibits about 100%of sheep RBC lysis (e.g., in 20%human serum) .
[0293] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety inhibits the AP (e.g., inhibiting rabbit RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of at most about 150 nM, such as at most about any of 120 nM, 100 nM, 95 nM, 90 nM, 85 nM, 80 nM, 75 nM, 70 nM, 60 nM, 50 nM, 40 nM, 30 nM, 20 nM, 10 nM, or less. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety inhibits the AP (e.g., inhibiting the rabbit RBC lysis in 20%human serum) with an IC50 value of about 1 nM to about 150 nM, such as any of about 100 nM to about 150 nM, about 1 nM to about 100 nM, about 50 nM to about 100 nM, about 40 nM to about 120 nM, about 60 nM to about 120 nM, about 70 nM to about 100 nM, about 70 nM to about 90 nM, about 80 nM to about 100 nM, or about 80 nM to about 90 nM. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety inhibits at most about 60% (e.g., at most about any of 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%or less) of rabbit RBC lysis (e.g., in 20%human serum) .
[0294] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety inhibits (e.g., inhibits at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) one or more of IgM-induced, mannan-induced, and LPS-induced C5b-9 deposition.
[0295] Methods of testing the activities (e.g., inhibition of the terminal pathway) of anti-C5 antibodies or antigen-binding fragments thereof are well known in the art, including but not limited to, sheep RBC lysis assay (e.g., induced by human serum) , IgM-, mannan-, or LPS-induced C5b-9 deposition assay. See, e.g., assays in US20220204602, US20220177556, US11578137, WO2022134047, and PCT / US2023 / 063305. Also see Examples 2-3 herein.
[0296] Linkers
[0297] The multispecific constructs and isolated anti-C5 antibody constructs described herein can comprises one or more optional linkers. For example, in some embodiments, the first antibody moiety specifically recognizing FD is an scFv, and comprises one or more linkers between the VH and VL. In some embodiments, the second antibody moiety specifically recognizing a complement protein is an scFv, and comprises one or more linkers between the VH and VL. In some embodiments, the linker within the anti-FD scFv and / or the scFv against the complement protein independently comprises an amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 89-95, and 110. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct comprises one or more linkers between the first antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) specifically recognizing FD and the second antibody moiety (e.g., scFv) specifically recognizing the complement protein. The length, the degree of flexibility, and / or other properties of the linker (s) used in the multispecific construct or isolated anti-C5 antibody construct may influence the properties of the multispecific construct or isolated anti-C5 antibody construct, including but not limited to influencing the affinity, specificity, or avidity, for one or more particular antigens or epitopes. For example, longer linkers may be selected to ensure that two adjacent domains do not sterically interfere with one another. In some embodiments, a linker (such as peptide linker) comprises flexible residues (such as glycine (G) and serine (S) ) so that the first antibody moiety specifically recognizing FD and the second antibody moiety specifically recognizing the complement protein are free to move relative to each other. In some embodiments, the linker is a peptide linker. In some embodiments, the linker is a non-cleavable linker. In some embodiments, the linker is a cleavable linker.
[0298] Other linker considerations include the effect on physical or pharmacokinetic properties of the resulting compound, such as solubility, lipophilicity, hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, stability (more or less stable as well as planned degradation) , rigidity, flexibility, immunogenicity, modulation of antibody binding, the ability to be incorporated into a micelle or liposome, and the like.
[0299] The peptide linker may have a naturally occurring sequence, or a non-naturally occurring sequence. For example, a sequence derived from the hinge region of heavy chain only antibodies may be used as the linker. See, for example, WO1996 / 034103.
[0300] The peptide linker can be of any suitable length. In some embodiments, the peptide linker is at least about any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 75, 100, 200, or more, amino acids long. In some embodiments, the peptide linker is no more than about any of 200, 100, 75, 50, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, or fewer, amino acids long. In some embodiments, the length of the peptide linker is any of about 1 amino acid to about 10 amino acids, about 1 amino acid to about 20 amino acids, about 1 amino acid to about 30 amino acids, about 5 amino acids to about 15 amino acids, about 10 amino acids to about 25 amino acids, about 5 amino acids to about 30 amino acids, about 10 amino acids to about 30 amino acids long, about 30 amino acids to about 50 amino acids, about 50 amino acids to about 100 amino acids, or about 1 amino acid to about 100 amino acids.
[0301] In some embodiments, the peptide linker does not comprise any polymerization activity. The characteristics of a peptide linker, which comprise the absence of the promotion of secondary structures, are known in the art and described, e.g., in Dall’A cqua et al. (Biochem. (1998) 37, 9266-9273) , Cheadle et al. (Mol Immunol (1992) 29, 21-30) and Raag and Whitlow (FASEB (1995) 9 (1) , 73-80) . In some embodiments, the peptide linker does not promote the formation of any secondary structures. The linkage of the domains to each other can be provided by, e.g., genetic engineering. Methods for preparing fused and operatively linked bispecific single chain constructs and expressing them in mammalian cells or bacteria are well-known in the art (e.g. WO1999 / 054440, Ausubel, Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Green Publishing Associates and Wiley Interscience, N.Y. 1989 and 1994 or Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 2001) .
[0302] The peptide linker can be a stable linker, which is not cleavable by proteases, especially by Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) .
[0303] In some embodiments, the peptide linker is a flexible linker. Exemplary flexible linkers include glycine polymers (G) n, where n is an integer of at least one, and glycine-serine polymers (including, for example, (GS) n, where n is an integer of at least one) , glycine-alanine polymers, alanine-serine polymers, and other flexible linkers known in the art. In some embodiments, the linker is a GS linker.
[0304] In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety specifically recognizing FD and the second antibody moiety specifically recognizing a complement protein are linked together by a linker of sufficient length to enable the antigen binding domains of the first and second antibody moieties to fold in such a way to permit binding to FD and the complement protein. In some embodiments, the linker comprises an amino acid sequence set forth in any one of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 89-95, and 110.
[0305] Fc domain
[0306] In some embodiments, the multispecific construct or the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct comprises an Fc domain. In some embodiments, the multispecific construct or isolated anti-C5 antibody construct comprises two polypeptide chains each comprising a subunit of the Fc domain, and the two polypeptide chains dimerize through the Fc domain (e.g., see FIG. 3B) . In some embodiments, the first moiety (e.g., first antibody moiety) or the second moiety (e.g., second antibody moiety) described herein can also (or further) comprise an Fc domain. For example, the first antibody moiety can be an anti-FD full-length antibody, and / or the second antibody moiety can be an anti-C2 or anti-C5 full-length antibody.
[0307] In some embodiments, the multispecific construct or the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct comprising an Fc domain has one or more of the following properties: i) has at least about 20% (e.g., at least about any of 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 1-fold, 1.5-fold, 2-fold, 5-fold, 10-fold, or more) longer half-life in vivo; and ii) has at least about 20% (e.g., at least about any of 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 1-fold, 1.5-fold, 2-fold, 5-fold, 10-fold, or more) stronger activity in inhibiting one or more of CP, LP, AP, and TP, compared to a same multispecific construct or a same isolated anti-C5 antibody construct without the Fc domain (e.g., different antibody moieties are connected via a G4S linker) .
[0308] In some embodiments, the Fc domain is an Fc effector domain, namely, an Fc domain possessing some or all effector functions, including for example complement and ADCC functions. In some embodiments, the Fc effector domain is an IgG1 or IgG3 Fc region.
[0309] In some embodiments, one or more amino acid modifications may be introduced into the Fc domain of the antibody moiety, thereby generating an Fc domain variant. The Fc domain variant may comprise a human Fc domain sequence (e.g., a human IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 or IgG4 Fc domain) comprising an amino acid modification (e.g., a substitution) at one or more amino acid positions.
[0310] In some embodiments, the Fc domain possesses some but not all effector functions, which make it a desirable candidate for applications in which the half-life of the antibody moiety in vivo is important yet certain effector functions (such as complement and ADCC) are unnecessary or deleterious.
[0311] In vitro and / or in vivo cytotoxicity assays can be conducted to analyze CDC and / or ADCC activities of the Fc domain. For example, Fc receptor (FcR) binding assays can be conducted to determine whether the antibody possesses FcγR binding (hence likely ADCC activity) , and / or retains FcRn binding ability. The primary cells for mediating ADCC, NK cells, express FcγRIII only, whereas monocytes express FcγRI, FcγRII and FcγRIII. FcR expression on hematopoietic cells is summarized in Table 2 on page 464 of Ravetch and Kinet, Annu. Rev. Immunol. 9: 457-492 (1991) . Non-limiting examples of in vitro assays to assess ADCC activity of a molecule of interest is described in U.S. Patent No. 5,500,362 (see, e.g. Hellstrom, I. et al. Proc. Nat’ l Acad. Sci. USA 83: 7059-7063 (1986) ) and Hellstrom, I et al., Proc. Nat’ l Acad. Sci. USA 82: 1499-1502 (1985) ; 5, 821, 337 (see Bruggemann, M. et al., J. Exp. Med. 166: 1351-1361 (1987) ) . Alternatively, non-radioactive assays methods may be employed (see, for example, ACTITM non-radioactive cytotoxicity assay for flow cytometry (CellTechnology, Inc. Mountain View, CA; and CytoTox non-radioactive cytotoxicity assay (Promega, Madison, WI) . Useful effector cells for such assays include peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and Natural Killer (NK) cells. Alternatively, or additionally, ADCC activity of the molecule of interest may be assessed in vivo, e.g., in an animal model such as that disclosed in Clynes et al. Proc. Nat’ l Acad. Sci. USA 95: 652-656 (1998) . C1q binding assays may also be carried out to confirm that the antibody is unable to bind C1q and hence lacks CDC activity. See, e.g., C1q and C3c binding ELISA in WO 2006 / 029879 and WO 2005 / 100402. To assess complement activation, a CDC assay may be performed (see, for example, Gazzano-Santoro et al., J. Immunol. Methods 202: 163 (1996) ; Cragg, M. S. et al., Blood 101: 1045-1052 (2003) ; and Cragg, M. S. and M.J. Glennie, Blood 103: 2738-2743 (2004) ) . FcRn binding and in vivo clearance / half-life determinations can also be performed using methods known in the art (see, e.g., Petkova, S. B. et al., Int’ l. Immunol. 18 (12) : 1759-1769 (2006) ) .
[0312] Antibodies with reduced effector function include those with substitution of one or more of Fc domain residues 238, 265, 269, 270, 297, 327, and 329 (U.S. Patent No. 6,737,056) . Such Fc mutants include Fc mutants with substitutions at two or more of amino acid positions 265, 269, 270, 297, and 327, including the so-called “DANA” Fc mutant with substitution of residues 265 and 297 to alanine (US Patent No. 7,332,581) . In some embodiments, the Fc domain of the multispecific construct or the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct does not comprises a mutation that reduces its effector function, such as one or more mutations described herein. In some embodiments, the Fc domain of the multispecific construct or the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct comprises one or more of these mutations.
[0313] Certain antibody variants with improved or diminished binding to FcRs are described. See, e.g., U.S. Patent No. 6,737,056; WO 2004 / 056312, and Shields et al., J. Biol. Chem. 9 (2) : 6591-6604 (2001) .
[0314] In some embodiments, the Fc domain is an IgG1 Fc domain. In some embodiments, the IgG1 Fc domain does not comprise L234A mutation and / or a L235A mutation. In some embodiments, the IgG1 Fc domain comprises a L234A mutation and / or a L235A mutation (“LALA” mutation) . In some embodiments, the Fc domain is an IgG3 Fc domain. In some embodiments, the Fc domain is an IgG2 or IgG4 Fc domain. In some embodiments, the Fc domain is a human IgG4 Fc comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 96. In some embodiments, the Fc domain is an IgG4 Fc domain comprising S228P, F234A, and / or L235A mutation. In some embodiments, the Fc domain is an IgG4 Fc fragment comprising an S228P mutation, such as comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 97. In some embodiments, the Fc domain is an IgG4 Fc fragment comprising S228P / M428L / N434A ( “PLA” ) triple mutations, such as comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41.
[0315] In some embodiments, the antibody moiety (or the multispecific construct, or the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct) comprises an Fc domain with one or more amino acid substitutions which improve ADCC, e.g., substitutions at positions 298, 333, and / or 334 of the Fc domain (EU numbering of residues) .
[0316] In some embodiments, alterations are made in the Fc domain that result in altered (i.e., either improved or diminished) C1q binding and / or Complement Dependent Cytotoxicity (CDC) , e.g., as described in US Patent No. 6,194,551, WO 99 / 51642, and Idusogie et al. J. Immunol. 164: 4178-4184 (2000) .
[0317] In some embodiments, the antibody moiety (or the multispecific construct, or the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct) comprises a variant Fc domain comprising one or more amino acid substitutions which alters half-life and / or changes binding to the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) . Antibodies with increased half-lives and improved binding to the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) , which is responsible for the transfer of maternal IgGs to the fetus (Guyer et al., J. Immunol. 117: 587 (1976) and Kim et al., J. Immunol. 24: 249 (1994) ) , are described in US2005 / 0014934A1 (Hinton et al. ) . Those antibodies comprise an Fc domain with one or more substitutions therein which alters binding of the Fc domain to FcRn. Such Fc variants include those with substitutions at one or more of Fc domain residues, e.g., substitution of Fc domain residue 434 (US Patent No. 7,371,826) .
[0318] See also Duncan &Winter, Nature 322: 738-40 (1988) ; U.S. Patent No. 5,648,260; U.S. Patent No. 5,624,821; and WO 94 / 29351 concerning other examples of Fc domain variants.
[0319] In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 41, 96, and 97. In some embodiments, the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41.
[0320] In some embodiments, the first antibody moiety is linked to the second antibody moiety via an Fc domain, such as an Fc domain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41. In some embodiments, the Fc domain is flanked by a linker (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 94) on one or each end of its sequence, then situated in between the first antibody moiety and the second antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the Fc domain is flanked by a linker (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 94) on each end of its sequence ( “flanked Fc domain linker” ) , then situated in between the first antibody moiety and the second antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the flanked Fc domain linker comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 105.
[0321] Antibody Binding Affinity
[0322] Binding specificity of the antibody moieties of the multispecific constructs and isolated anti-C5 antibody constructs described herein can be determined experimentally by methods known in the art. Such methods comprise, but are not limited to Western blots, ELISA-, RIA-, ECL-, IRMA-, EIA-, BIACORETM -tests and peptide scans.
[0323] In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety specifically binds FD (e.g., human FD) with a KD of about 10-7 M to about 10-12 M, such as any of about 10-7 M to about 10-10 M, about 10-8 M to about 10-11 M, about 10-9 M to about 10-11 M, about 10-8 M to about 10-10 M, about 10-8 M to about 10-9 M, about 10-9 M to about 10-10 M, or about 10-10 M to about 10-11 M. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety specifically binds FD (e.g., human FD) with a KD of about 10-8 M to about 10-12 M, or about 1×10-10 M to about 5×10-10 M.
[0324] In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety specifically binds C2 (e.g., human C2) with a KD of about 10-7 M to about 10-12 M, such as any of about 10-7 M to about 10-10 M, about 10-8 M to about 10-11 M, about 10-9 M to about 10-11 M, about 10-8 M to about 10-10 M, about 10-8 M to about 10-9 M, about 10-9 M to about 10-10 M, or about 10-10 M to about 10-11 M. In some embodiments, the anti-C2 antibody moiety specifically binds C2 (e.g., human C2) with a KD of about 1×10-10 M to about 5×10-10 M.
[0325] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety specifically binds C5 (e.g., human C5) with a KD of about 10-7 M to about 10-12 M, such as any of about 10-7 M to about 10-10 M, about 10-8 M to about 10-11 M, about 10-9 M to about 10-11 M, about 10-8 M to about 10-10 M, about 10-8 M to about 10-9 M, about 10-9 M to about 10-10 M, or about 10-10 M to about 10-11 M. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety specifically binds C5 (e.g., human C5) with a KD of about 1×10-9 M to about 5×10-9 M.
[0326] Chimeric or Humanized Antibodies
[0327] In some embodiments, one or more of the antibody moieties of the multispecific constructs or the isolated anti-C5 antibody constructs of the present application is a chimeric antibody. Certain chimeric antibodies are described, e.g., in U.S. Patent No. 4,816,567; and Morrison et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 81: 6851-6855 (1984) ) . In some embodiments, a chimeric antibody comprises a non-human variable region (e.g., a variable region derived from mouse) and a human constant region. In some embodiments, a chimeric antibody is a “class switched” antibody in which the class or subclass has been changed from that of the parent antibody. Chimeric antibodies include antigen-binding fragments thereof.
[0328] In some embodiments, a chimeric antibody is a humanized antibody. Typically, a non-human antibody is humanized to reduce immunogenicity to humans, while retaining the specificity and affinity of the parental non-human antibody. Generally, a humanized antibody comprises one or more variable domains in which HVRs, e.g., CDRs, (or portions thereof) are derived from a non-human antibody, and FRs (or portions thereof) are derived from human antibody sequences. A humanized antibody optionally will also comprise at least a portion of a human constant region. In some embodiments, some FR residues in a humanized antibody are substituted with corresponding residues from a non-human antibody (e.g., the antibody from which the HVR residues are derived) , e.g., to restore or improve antibody specificity or affinity.
[0329] Humanized antibodies and methods of making them are reviewed, e.g., in Almagro and Fransson, Front. Biosci. 13: 1619-1633 (2008) , and are further described, e.g., in Riechmann et al., Nature 332: 323-329 (1988) ; Queen et al., Proc. Nat’ l Acad. Sci. USA 86: 10029-10033 (1989) ; US Patent Nos. 5,821,337, 7,527,791, 6,982,321, and 7,087,409; Kashmiri et al., Methods 36: 25-34 (2005) (describing SDR (a-CDR) grafting) ; Padlan, Mol. Immunol. 28: 489-498 (1991) (describing “resurfacing” ) ; Dall’A cqua et al., Methods 36: 43-60 (2005) (describing “FR shuffling” ) ; and Osbourn et al., Methods 36: 61-68 (2005) and Klimka et al., Br. J. Cancer, 83: 252-260 (2000) (describing the “guided selection” approach to FR shuffling) .
[0330] Human framework regions that may be used for humanization include but are not limited to: framework regions selected using the “best-fit” method (see, e.g., Sims et al. J. Immunol. 15 1 : 2296 (1993) ) ; Framework regions derived from the consensus sequence of human antibodies of a particular subgroup of light or heavy chain variable regions (see, e.g., Carter et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 8 9 : 4285 (1992) ; and Presta et al. J. Immunol., 151: 2623 (1993) ) ; human mature (somatically mutated) framework regions or human germline framework regions (see, e.g., Almagro and Fransson, Front. Biosci. 13: 1619-1633 (2008) ) ; and framework regions derived from screening FR libraries (see, e.g., Baca et al., J. Biol. Chem. 272: 10678-10684 (1997) and Rosok et al., J. Biol. Chem. 271: 22611-22618 (1996) ) .
[0331] Human Antibodies
[0332] In some embodiments, one or more of the antibody moieties of the multispecific constructs or the isolated anti-C5 antibody constructs of the present application is a human antibody (known as human domain antibody, or human dAb) . Human antibodies can be produced using various techniques known in the art. Human antibodies are described generally in van Dijk and van de Winkel, Curr. Opin. Pharmacol. 5: 368-74 (2001) , Lonberg, Curr. Opin. Immunol. 20: 450-459 (2008) , and Chen, Mol. Immunol. 47 (4) : 912-21 (2010) . Transgenic mice or rats capable of producing fully human single-domain antibodies (or dAb) are known in the art. See, e.g., US20090307787A1, U.S. Pat. No. 8,754,287, US20150289489A1, US20100122358A1, and WO2004049794.
[0333] Human antibodies (e.g., human dAbs) may be prepared by administering an immunogen to a transgenic animal that has been modified to produce intact human antibodies or intact antibodies with human variable regions in response to antigenic challenge. Such animals typically contain all or a portion of the human immunoglobulin loci, which replace the endogenous immunoglobulin loci, or which are present extrachromosomally or integrated randomly into the animal’s chromosomes. In such transgenic mice, the endogenous immunoglobulin loci have generally been inactivated. For review of methods for obtaining human antibodies from transgenic animals, see Lonberg, Nat. Biotech. 23: 1117-1125 (2005) . See also, e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 6,075,181 and 6,150,584 describing XENOMOUSETM technology; U.S. Patent No. 5,770,429 describing technology; U.S. Patent No. 7,041,870 describing K-M technology, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2007 / 0061900, describing technology) . Human variable regions from intact antibodies generated by such animals may be further modified, e.g., by combining with a different human constant region.
[0334] Human antibodies (e.g., human dAbs) can also be made by hybridoma-based methods. Human myeloma and mouse-human heteromyeloma cell lines for the production of human monoclonal antibodies have been described (See, e.g., Kozbor J. Immunol., 133: 3001 (1984) ; Brodeur et al., Monoclonal Antibody Production Techniques and Applications, pp. 51-63 (Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1987) ; and Boerner et al., J. Immunol., 147: 86 (1991) ) . Human antibodies generated via human B-cell hybridoma technology are also described in Li et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 103: 3557-3562 (2006) . Additional methods include those described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 7,189,826 (describing production of monoclonal human IgM antibodies from hybridoma cell lines) and Ni, Xiandai Mianyixue, 26 (4) : 265-268 (2006) (describing human-human hybridomas) . Human hybridoma technology (Trioma technology) is also described in Vollmers and Brandlein, Histology and Histopathology, 20(3) : 927-937 (2005) and Vollmers and Brandlein, Methods and Findings in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, 27 (3) : 185-91 (2005) .
[0335] Human antibodies (e.g., human dAbs) may also be generated by isolating Fv clone variable domain sequences selected from human-derived phage display libraries. Such variable domain sequences may then be combined with a desired human constant domain. Techniques for selecting human antibodies from antibody libraries are described below.
[0336] Substitution, Insertion, and Deletion Variants
[0337] In some embodiments, antibody variants comprising one or more amino acid substitutions are included in the multispecific constructs or isolated anti-C5 antibody constructs described herein. Sites of interest for substitutional mutagenesis include the HVRs (or CDRs) and FRs. Conservative substitutions are shown in Table 2 under the heading of “Preferred substitutions. ” More substantial changes are provided in Table 2 under the heading of “exemplary substitutions, ” and as further described below in reference to amino acid side chain classes. Amino acid substitutions may be introduced into an antibody of interest and the products screened for a desired activity, e.g., retained / improved antigen binding, decreased immunogenicity, or improved ADCC or CDC.
[0338] Table 2. Amino acid substitutions
[0339] Amino acids may be grouped according to common side-chain properties: (1) hydrophobic: Norleucine, Met, Ala, Val, Leu, Ile; (2) neutral hydrophilic: Cys, Ser, Thr, Asn, Gln; (3) acidic: Asp, Glu; (4) basic: His, Lys, Arg; (5) residues that influence chain orientation: Gly, Pro; and (6) aromatic: Trp, Tyr, Phe.
[0340] Non-conservative substitutions will entail exchanging a member of one of these classes for another class.
[0341] One type of substitutional variant involves substituting one or more hypervariable region residues of a parent antibody (e.g., a humanized or human antibody) . Generally, the resulting variant (s) selected for further study will have modifications (e.g., improvements) in certain biological properties (e.g., increased affinity, reduced immunogenicity) relative to the parent antibody and / or will have substantially retained certain biological properties of the parent antibody. An exemplary substitutional variant is an affinity matured antibody, which may be conveniently generated, e.g., using phage display-based affinity maturation techniques such as those described herein. Briefly, one or more HVR residues are mutated and the variant antibodies displayed on phage and screened for a particular biological activity (e.g. binding affinity) .
[0342] Alterations (e.g., substitutions) may be made in HVRs, e.g., to improve antibody affinity. Such alterations may be made in HVR “hotspots, ” i.e., residues encoded by codons that undergo mutation at high frequency during the somatic maturation process (see, e.g., Chowdhury, Methods Mol. Biol. 207: 179-196 (2008) ) , and / or SDRs (a-CDRs) , with the resulting variant VH or VL being tested for binding affinity. Affinity maturation by constructing and reselecting from secondary libraries has been described, e.g., in Hoogenboom et al. in Methods in Molecular Biology 178: 1-37 (O’ Brien et al., ed., Human Press, Totowa, NJ, (2001) ) . In some embodiments of affinity maturation, diversity is introduced into the variable genes chosen for maturation by any of a variety of methods (e.g., error-prone PCR, chain shuffling, or oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis) . A secondary library is then created. The library is then screened to identify any antibody variants with the desired affinity. Another method to introduce diversity involves HVR-directed approaches, in which several HVR residues (e.g., 4-6 residues at a time) are randomized. HVR residues involved in antigen binding may be specifically identified, e.g., using alanine scanning mutagenesis or modeling. CDR-H3 and CDR-L3 in particular are often targeted.
[0343] In some embodiments, substitutions, insertions, or deletions may occur within one or more HVRs so long as such alterations do not substantially reduce the ability of the antibody to bind antigen. For example, conservative alterations (e.g., conservative substitutions as provided herein) that do not substantially reduce binding affinity may be made in HVRs. Such alterations may be outside of HVR “hotspots” or CDRs. In some embodiments of the variant VHH sequences provided above, each HVR either is unaltered, or contains no more than one, two or three amino acid substitutions.
[0344] A useful method for identification of residues or regions of an antibody that may be targeted for mutagenesis is called “alanine scanning mutagenesis” as described by Cunningham and Wells (1989) Science, 244: 1081-1085. In this method, a residue or group of target residues (e.g., charged residues such as Arg, Asp, His, Lys, and Glu) are identified and replaced by a neutral or negatively charged amino acid (e.g., alanine or polyalanine) to determine whether the interaction of the antibody with antigen is affected. Further substitutions may be introduced at the amino acid locations demonstrating functional sensitivity to the initial substitutions. Alternatively, or additionally, a crystal structure of an antigen-antibody complex to identify contact points between the antibody and antigen. Such contact residues and neighboring residues may be targeted or eliminated as candidates for substitution. Variants may be screened to determine whether they contain the desired properties.
[0345] Amino acid sequence insertions include amino-and / or carboxyl-terminal fusions ranging in length from one residue to polypeptides containing a hundred or more residues, as well as intra-sequence insertions of single or multiple amino acid residues. Examples of terminal insertions include an antibody with an N-terminal methionyl residue. Other insertional variants of the antibody molecule include the fusion to the N-or C-terminus of the antibody to an enzyme (e.g., for ADEPT) or a polypeptide which increases the serum half-life of the antibody.
[0346] Glycosylation variants
[0347] In some embodiments, one or more antibody moieties of the multispecific constructs or isolated anti-C5 antibody constructs of the present application is altered to increase or decrease the extent to which the construct is glycosylated. Addition or deletion of glycosylation sites to an antibody may be conveniently accomplished by altering the amino acid sequence such that one or more glycosylation sites is created or removed.
[0348] Where the antibody moiety (or the multispecific construct, or the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct) comprises an Fc domain, the carbohydrate attached thereto may be altered. Native antibodies produced by mammalian cells typically comprise a branched, biantennary oligosaccharide that is generally attached by an N-linkage to Asn297 of the CH2 domain of the Fc domain. See, e.g., Wright et al. TIBTECH 15: 26-32 (1997) . The oligosaccharide may include various carbohydrates, e.g., mannose, N-acetyl glucosamine (GlcNAc) , galactose, and sialic acid, as well as a fucose attached to a GlcNAc in the “stem” of the biantennary oligosaccharide structure. In some embodiments, modifications of the oligosaccharide in the antibody moiety may be made in order to create antibody variants with certain improved properties.
[0349] In some embodiments, the antibody moiety (or the multispecific construct, or the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct) has a carbohydrate structure that lacks fucose attached (directly or indirectly) to an Fc domain. For example, the amount of fucose in such antibody may be from 1%to 80%, from 1%to 65%, from 5%to 65%or from 20%to 40%. The amount of fucose is determined by calculating the average amount of fucose within the sugar chain at Asn297, relative to the sum of all glycostructures attached to Asn 297 (e.g., complex, hybrid and high mannose structures) as measured by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, as described in WO 2008 / 077546, for example. Asn297 refers to the asparagine residue located at about position 297 in the Fc domain (EU numbering of Fc domain residues) ; however, Asn297 may also be located about ± 3 amino acids upstream or downstream of position 297, i.e., between positions 294 and 300, due to minor sequence variations in antibodies. Such fucosylation variants may have improved ADCC function. See, e.g., US Patent Publication Nos. US 2003 / 0157108 (Presta, L.); US 2004 / 0093621 (Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd) . Examples of publications related to “defucosylated” or “fucose-deficient” antibody variants include: US 2003 / 0157108; WO 2000 / 61739; WO 2001 / 29246; US 2003 / 0115614; US 2002 / 0164328; US 2004 / 0093621; US 2004 / 0132140; US 2004 / 0110704; US 2004 / 0110282; US 2004 / 0109865; WO 2003 / 085119; WO 2003 / 084570; WO 2005 / 035586; WO 2005 / 035778; WO2005 / 053742; WO2002 / 031140; Okazaki et al. J. Mol. Biol. 336: 1239-1249 (2004) ; Yamane-Ohnuki et al. Biotech. Bioeng. 87: 614 (2004) . Examples of cell lines capable of producing defucosylated antibodies include Lec13 CHO cells deficient in protein fucosylation (Ripka et al. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 249: 533-545 (1986) ; US Patent Application No. US 2003 / 0157108 A1, Presta, L; and WO 2004 / 056312 A1, Adams et al., especially at Example 11) , and knockout cell lines, such as alpha-1, 6-fucosyltransferase gene, FUT8, knockout CHO cells (see, e.g., Yamane-Ohnuki et al. Biotech. Bioeng. 87: 614 (2004) ; Kanda, Y. et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng., 94 (4) : 680-688 (2006) ; and WO2003 / 085107) .
[0350] In some embodiments, the antibody moiety (or the multispecific construct, or the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct) has bisected oligosaccharides, e.g., in which a biantennary oligosaccharide attached to the Fc domain of the antibody is bisected by GlcNAc. Such antibody variants may have reduced fucosylation and / or improved ADCC function. Examples of such antibody variants are described, e.g., in WO 2003 / 011878 (Jean-Mairet et al. ) ; US Patent No. 6,602,684 (Umana et al. ) ; and US 2005 / 0123546 (Umana et al. ) . Antibody variants with at least one galactose residue in the oligosaccharide attached to the Fc domain are also provided. Such antibody variants may have improved CDC function. Such antibody variants are described, e.g., in WO 1997 / 30087 (Patel et al. ) ; WO 1998 / 58964 (Raju, S. ) ; and WO 1999 / 22764 (Raju, S. ) .
[0351] Cysteine Engineered Antibody Variants
[0352] In some embodiments, it may be desirable to create cysteine engineered antibody moieties, e.g., “thioMAbs, ” in which one or more residues of one or more of the antibody moieties in a multispecific construct or an isolated anti-C5 antibody construct herein are substituted with cysteine residues. In particular embodiments, the substituted residues occur at accessible sites of the antibody. By substituting those residues with cysteine, reactive thiol groups are thereby positioned at accessible sites of the antibody and may be used to conjugate the antibody to other moieties, such as drug moieties or linker-drug moieties, to create an immunoconjugate, as described further herein. In some embodiments, any one or more of the following residues may be substituted with cysteine: A118 (EU numbering) of the heavy chain; and S400 (EU numbering) of the heavy chain Fc domain. Cysteine engineered antibody moieties may be generated as described, e.g., in U.S. Patent No. 7,521,541.
[0353] III. Isolated anti-C5 antibody constructs
[0354] Also provided are isolated antibody constructs (anti-C5 antibody constructs) comprising any of the anti-C5 antibody moieties described above. Any of the properties (e.g., binding affinities, biological properties) of the anti-C5 antibody moieties described above apply to isolated anti-C5 antibody constructs herein too.
[0355] In some embodiments, there is provided an isolated anti-C5 antibody construct comprising an antibody moiety specifically recognizing C5 (anti-C5 antibody moiety) , wherein the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises: an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36; and wherein the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises i) a VH comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80% (e.g., at least about any of 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 37, and ii) a VL comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80% (e.g., at least about any of 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, there is provided an anti-C5 antibody moiety, or an anti-C5 antibody construct comprising an anti-C5 antibody moiety, comprising a VH comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and a VL comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is selected from the group consisting of a full-length antibody, a Fab, a Fab’ , a F (ab) 2, a F (ab’ ) 2, an scFv, and a combination thereof.
[0356] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is a full-length antibody ( “anti-C5 full-length antibody” ) . In some embodiments, the anti-C5 full-length antibody comprises an Fc fragment derived from human IgG4. In some embodiments, the Fc fragment comprises the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 41, 96, and 97, such as SEQ ID NO: 41. Hence in some embodiments, there is provided an anti-C5 full-length antibody, or an anti-C5 antibody construct comprising an anti-C5 full-length antibody, wherein the anti-C5 full-length antibody comprises a heavy chain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 98, and a light chain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 99.
[0357] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is an anti-C5 scFv. Hence in some embodiments, there is provided an anti-C5 scFv, or an anti-C5 antibody construct comprising an anti-C5 scFv, wherein the anti-C5 scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39 or 40.
[0358] In some embodiments, the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct is multispecific. In some embodiments, the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct further comprises an antibody moiety specifically recognizing FD (anti-FD antibody moiety) (hereinafter also referred to as “isolated anti-C5 / anti-FD antibody construct” ) . Any of the anti-FD antibody moieties described above can be used herein. Any of the properties (e.g., binding affinities, biological properties) of the anti-FD antibody moieties and anti-FD / anti-C5 multispecific constructs described above apply to isolated anti-C5 / anti-FD antibody constructs herein too.
[0359] Hence in some embodiments, there is provided an isolated anti-C5 antibody construct comprising an anti-C5 antibody moiety (e.g., full-length antibody, Fab, or scFv) , wherein the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct further comprises an anti-FD antibody moiety; and wherein the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises: an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises i) a VH comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80% (e.g., at least about any of 80%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 37, and ii) a VL comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80% (e.g., at least about any of 80%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises a VH comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and a VL comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is an anti-C5 scFv. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39 or 40. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety comprises a VH comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and a VL comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. In some embodiments, the anti-FD antibody moiety is an scFv (anti-FD scFv) . In some embodiments, the anti-FD scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 or 10. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is an anti-C5 scFv, and the anti-C5 scFv is linked to the anti-FD scFv directly to form a fusion polypeptide. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is an anti-C5 scFv, and the anti-C5 scFv is linked to the anti-FD scFv via a peptide linker and / or an Fc domain to form a fusion polypeptide. Any linker and Fc domain described in Section II can be used herein. In some embodiments, the linker within the anti-FD scFv and / or the anti-C5 scFv, and the linker in between the anti-C5 scFv and the anti-FD scFv, independently comprises an amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 76, 93, and 95. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 scFv and the anti-FD scFv are connected by a linker comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 76. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 scFv and the anti-FD scFv are connected by an Fc domain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41, or a flanked Fc domain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 105. In some embodiments, the fusion polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 46-50, 59-62, 71-75, and 85-88. In some embodiments, the isolated anti-C5 / anti-FD antibody construct comprises 2 fusion polypeptides each comprising the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 59-62, 72, 74, 75, 86, and 88.
[0360] In some embodiments, the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct further comprises a complement factor H (FH) or functional fragment thereof (hereinafter also referred to as “anti- C5-FH fusion protein” ) . In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody construct or anti-C5-FH fusion protein inhibits (e.g., inhibit at least about any of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%) C3 activation. In some embodiments, the functional fragment of FH comprises short consensus repeat (SCR) domains 1-4 of FH, or SCR domains 1-5 of FH. In some embodiments, the functional fragment of FH comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 101. In some embodiments, the FH or functional fragment thereof is fused to the N-terminus of the anti-C5 antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the FH or functional fragment thereof is fused to the C-terminus of the anti-C5 antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is a full-length antibody, a Fab, or an scFv.
[0361] Hence in some embodiments, there is provided an isolated anti-C5 antibody construct comprising an anti-C5 antibody moiety (e.g., full-length antibody, Fab, or scFv) , wherein the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct further comprises an FH or functional fragment thereof (e.g., comprising SCR domains 1-4 or 1-5 of FH, or SEQ ID NO: 101) ; and wherein the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises: an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises i) a VH comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80% (e.g., at least about any of 80%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 37, and ii) a VL comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80% (e.g., at least about any of 80%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more) amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises a VH comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, and a VL comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38. In some embodiments, the FH or functional fragment thereof is fused to the N-terminus of the anti-C5 antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the FH or functional fragment thereof is fused to the C-terminus of the anti-C5 antibody moiety. In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is an anti-C5 full-length antibody.
[0362] In some embodiments, the anti-C5 antibody moiety is an anti-C5 full-length antibody. Hence in some embodiments, there is provided an isolated anti-C5 antibody construct comprising an anti-C5 full-length antibody, wherein the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct further comprises one or more FH or functional fragments thereof (e.g., comprising SCR domains 1-4 or 1-5 of FH, or SEQ ID NO: 101) ; and wherein the anti-C5 full-length antibody comprises: an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ I...
Claims
1.A multispecific construct comprising a first antibody moiety specifically recognizing complement factor D ( “FD” ) and a second antibody moiety specifically recognizing a component of the complement pathway.2.The multispecific construct of claim 1, wherein the first antibody moiety specifically recognizing the FD comprises an immunoglobulin heavy chain variable domain ( “VH1” ) and an immunoglobulin light chain variable domain ( “VL1” ) .3.The multispecific construct of claim 2, wherein:(i) the VH1 comprises a heavy chain CDR1 ( “H-CDR1” ) comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; a heavy chain CDR2 ( “H-CDR2” ) comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; and a heavy chain CDR3 ( “H-CDR3” ) comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; and(ii) the VL1 comprises a light chain CDR1 ( “L-CDR1” ) comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; a light chain CDR2 ( “L-CDR2” ) comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; and a light chain CDR3 ( “L-CDR3” ) comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations.4.The multispecific construct of claim 2 or 3, wherein the VH1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 7; and the VL1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8 or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 8.5.The multispecific construct of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the first antibody moiety is an scFv.6.The multispecific construct of claim 5, wherein the first antibody moiety is an scFv comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 or 10.7.The multispecific construct of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the second antibody moiety specifically recognizing the component of the complement pathway comprises an immunoglobulin heavy chain variable domain ( “VH2” ) and an immunoglobulin light chain variable domain ( “VL2” ) .8.The multispecific construct of claim 7, wherein the second antibody moiety is an scFv.9.The multispecific construct of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the component of the complement pathway is complement component 2 ( “C2” ) .10.The multispecific construct of claim 9, wherein:(i) the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; andthe VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; or(ii) the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; andthe VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 24, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations.11.The multispecific construct of claim 9 or 10, wherein:(i) the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17 or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 17; and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18 or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 18; or(ii) the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27 or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 27; and the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 28 or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 28.12.The multispecific construct of any one of claims 9-11, wherein the second antibody moiety is an scFv comprising the amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 19, 20, 29, and 30.13.The multispecific construct of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the component of the complement pathway is complement component 5 ( “C5” ) .14.The multispecific construct of claim 13, wherein:(i) the VH2 comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; and an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; and(ii) the VL2 comprises an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations; and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36, or a variant thereof comprising up to 3 amino acid variations.15.The multispecific construct of claim 13 or 14, wherein:(i) the VH2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 37; and(ii) the VL2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 38.16.The multispecific construct of any one of claims 13-15, wherein the second antibody moiety is an scFv comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39 or 40.17.The multispecific construct of any one of claims 1-16, wherein:(i) the first antibody moiety is linked directly to the second antibody moiety; or(ii) the first antibody moiety is linked to the second antibody moiety via a peptide linker.18.The multispecific construct of any one of claims 1-17, wherein the multispecific construct comprises the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 42-50, 63, 67, 71, 73, 77, 81, 85, 87, 106, and 108.19.The multispecific construct of any one of claims 1-16, wherein the first antibody moiety is linked to the second antibody moiety via an Fc domain.20.The multispecific construct of claim 19, wherein the Fc domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 41.21.The multispecific construct of claim 19 or 20, wherein the multispecific construct comprises the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 51-55, 59-62, 65, 69, 72, 74, 75, 78, 82, 86, and 88.22.An isolated nucleic acid or a vector comprising thereof encoding the multispecific construct of any one of claims 1-21.23.The isolated nucleic acid or vector of claim 22, wherein:(i) the vector is a viral vector; or(ii) the isolated nucleic acid is an mRNA.24.A pharmaceutical composition comprising the multispecific construct of any one of claims 1-21, the isolated nucleic acid of claim 22 or 23, or the vector of claim 22 or 23, and an optional pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.25.A method of treating a complement-mediated disease in an individual, comprising administering to the individual an effective amount of the pharmaceutical composition of claim 24.26.The method of claim 25, wherein the complement-mediated disease is an eye disease.27.An isolated antibody construct (anti-C5 antibody construct) comprising an antibody moiety specifically recognizing C5 (anti-C5 antibody moiety) , wherein the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises: an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36; and wherein the anti-C5 antibody moiety comprises i) a VH comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 37, and ii) a VL comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38, or a variant thereof that has at least about 80%amino acid homology to SEQ ID NO: 38.28.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 27, wherein the anti-C5 antibody moiety is selected from the group consisting of a full-length antibody, a Fab, a Fab’, a F (ab) 2, a F (ab’) 2, an scFv, and a combination thereof.29.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 27 or 28, wherein the anti-C5 antibody moiety is a full-length antibody ( “anti-C5 full-length antibody” ) .30.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 29, wherein the anti-C5 full-length antibody comprises a heavy chain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 98, and a light chain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 99.31.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of any one of claims 27-29, wherein the anti-C5 antibody moiety is an anti-C5 scFv.32.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 31, wherein the anti-C5 scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39 or 40.33.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of any one of claims 27-32, wherein the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct is multispecific.34.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 33, wherein the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct further comprises an antibody moiety specifically recognizing FD (anti-FD antibody moiety) .35.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 34, wherein the anti-FD antibody moiety comprises an H-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, an H-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, an H-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, an L-CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, an L-CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, and an L-CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6.36.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 34 or 35, wherein the anti-FD antibody moiety comprises a VH comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, and a VL comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8.37.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of any one of claims 34-36, wherein the anti-FD antibody moiety is an scFv (anti-FD scFv) .38.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 37, wherein the anti-FD scFv comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 or 10.39.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 37 or 38, wherein the anti-C5 antibody moiety is an anti-C5 scFv, and wherein:(i) the anti-C5 scFv is linked to the anti-FD scFv directly to form a fusion polypeptide; or(ii) the anti-C5 scFv is linked to the anti-FD scFv via a peptide linker and / or an Fc domain to form a fusion polypeptide.40.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 37 or 38, wherein the fusion polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 46-50, 59-62, 71-75, and 85-88.41.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of any one of claims 27-33, wherein the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct further comprises a complement factor H (FH) or functional fragment thereof.42.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 41, wherein the anti-C5 antibody construct inhibits C3 activation.43.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 41 or 42, wherein the functional fragment of FH comprises short consensus repeat (SCR) domains 1-4 of FH.44.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 43, wherein the functional fragment of FH comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 101.45.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of any one of claims 41-44, wherein the FH or functional fragment thereof is fused to the N-terminus or the C-terminus of the anti-C5 antibody moiety.46.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of any one of claims 41-44, wherein the anti-C5 antibody moiety is an anti-C5 full-length antibody, wherein the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct comprises a first FH or functional fragment thereof and a second FH or functional fragment thereof, wherein the first FH or functional fragment thereof is fused to the C-terminus of a first heavy chain of the anti-C5 full-length antibody, and the second FH or functional fragment thereof is fused to the C-terminus of a second heavy chain of the anti-C5 full-length antibody.47.The isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of claim 46, wherein each heavy chain fused to FH or functional fragment thereof comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 100, and each light chain of the anti-C5 full-length antibody comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 99.48.An isolated nucleic acid or a vector comprising thereof encoding the isolated anti-C5 antibody construct of any one of claims 27-47.49.The vector of claim 48, wherein the vector is a viral vector.50.A host cell comprising the isolated nucleic acid of any one of claims 22, 23, and 488, or the vector of any one of claims 22, 23, 48, and 49.51.A pharmaceutical composition comprising the multispecific construct of any one of claims 1-21, the isolated nucleic acid of any one of claims 22, 23, and 48, or the vector of any one of claims 22, 23, 48, and 49, and an optional pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.52.A method of treating a complement-mediated disease in an individual, comprising administering to the individual an effective amount of the pharmaceutical composition of claim 51.53.The method of claim 52, wherein the complement-mediated disease is selected from the group consisting of: macular degeneration (MD) , age-related macular degeneration (AMD) , ischemia reperfusion injury, arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, allergic asthma, lupus, ulcerative colitis, stroke, post-surgery systemic inflammatory syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) , paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) syndrome, myasthenia gravis, neuromyelitis optica (NMO) , multiple sclerosis, delayed graft function, antibody-mediated rejection, aHUS, central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) , central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) , epidermolysis bullosa, sepsis, organ transplantation, inflammation, C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) , membranous nephropathy, IgA nephropathy (IgAN) , glomerulonephritis, thrombotic microangiopathies secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE-TMA) , anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) -mediated vasculitis, shiga toxin induced HUS, antiphospholipid antibody-induced pregnancy loss, and any combinations thereof.
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