Highlights of 2019 Protein Engineering Summit (PEGS) in Boston, USA: advancing antibody-based cancer therapies to the clinic

Abstract The 15th Annual Protein Engineering Summit (PEGS) organized by Cambridge Healthtech Institute was held in Boston, USA, from 8 to 12 April 2019. This report highlights the presentations in the Oncology Stream of this meeting with a focus on bispecific antibodies (BsAbs). A variety of BsAb formats with different target antigens (CD3, CTLA4, PD-1, PD-L1, EGFR, HER2, BCMA, CD19, CD20, CD38, CD123, TGFβ, PSMA, etc.) have been discussed, in which the T-cell engaging (anti-CD3) BsAb is the most studied construct to exhibit promising immunotherapeutic activities. The BsAb formats include IgG-like structures or antibody fragments composed of antigen-binding sites only. Preclinical and clinical data from different BsAbs demonstrated the potential therapeutic applications in various solid tumors and hematological malignancies. The ongoing development of BsAb formats will help overcome current clinical issues, such as tumor selectivity and antigen coverage. This report also covers several presentations about emerging targets (e.g. mesothelin, CD47) and new technologies in the field of antibody engineering and therapeutics.