MCLA-117, a CLEC12AxCD3 bispecific antibody targeting a leukaemic stem cell antigen, induces T cell-mediated AML blast lysis

Objective: We report the characterization of MCLA-117, a novel T cell-redirecting antibody for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) treatment targeting CD3 on T cells and CLEC12A on leukaemic cells. In AML, CLEC12A is expressed on blasts and leukaemic stem cells. Methods: The functional capacity of MCLA-117 to redirect resting T cells to eradicate CLEC12A^POS tumor cells was studied using human samples, including primary AML samples. Results: Within the normal hematopoietic compartment, MCLA-117 binds to cells expressing CD3 and CLEC12A but not to early myeloid progenitors or hematopoietic stem cells. MCLA-117 induces T cell activation (EC₅₀ = 44 ng/mL), T cell proliferation, mild pro-inflammatory cytokine release, and redirects T cells to lyse CLEC12A^POS target cells (EC₅₀ = 68 ng/mL). MCLA-117-induced targeting of normal CD34^POS cells co-cultured with T cells spares erythrocyte and megakaryocyte differentiation as well as preserves mono-myelocytic lineage development. In primary AML patient samples with autologous T cells, MCLA-117 robustly induced AML blast killing (23–98%) at low effector-to-target ratios (1:3–1:97). Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that MCLA-117 efficiently redirects T cells to kill tumour cells while sparing the potential of the bone marrow to develop the full hematological compartment and support further clinical evaluation as a potentially potent treatment option for AML.