Celltrion Anticipates Potential of Multi-Antibody New Drug to Treat ENHERTU-Resistant Patients in Preclinical Studies

Preclinical Results of CT-P72/ABP-102 Unveiled at SITC 2025
Demonstrates Therapeutic Potential for Patients Resistant to HER2-Targeted ADCs

Celltrion announced on November 5 that it will present preclinical results for its multi-antibody new drug, CT-P72/ABP-102, at 'SITC 2025 (Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Annual Meeting)', the world's largest immuno-oncology academic event, held in Maryland, USA from November 5 to 9 (local time).

CT-P72/ABP-102 is a multi-antibody immuno-oncology drug that Celltrion is co-developing with the US-based company Abpro. It utilizes a T-cell engager (TCE) approach, which connects cancer cells expressing the HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) protein-associated with cell growth-and immune cells called T cells, in order to eliminate cancer cells.

In preclinical studies of CT-P72/ABP-102, a mouse model implanted with both high and low HER2-expressing cell lines demonstrated a strong anti-tumor effect specific to tumors with high HER2 expression. Toxicity studies in primates also showed no significant adverse effects even at a high dose of 80 mg/kg, thereby broadly confirming the high safety profile of CT-P72/ABP-102.

According to Celltrion, these strong anti-tumor effects specific to high HER2-expressing tumors and the excellent safety profile are attributed to the structural design of CT-P72/ABP-102. The drug is engineered to reduce the binding affinity of T cells to normal cells with low HER2 expression, while enhancing binding specifically to cancer cells with high HER2 expression. Additionally, binding affinity to the CD3 protein on T cells was optimized to achieve the desired level of T-cell activation.

Through this approach, the structural design addresses toxicity issues and demonstrates superiority in terms of therapeutic index (TI)-the ratio of toxic dose to effective dose-compared to other HER2-targeted TCE drugs.

Notably, in animal studies comparing the efficacy of CT-P72/ABP-102 to that of ENHERTU (ingredient name: trastuzumab deruxtecan), a leading anti-cancer drug targeting HER2, against cancer cells resistant to ENHERTU, CT-P72/ABP-102 showed significant tumor growth inhibition, suggesting its potential as a new treatment option over existing therapies.

Furthermore, Celltrion stated that the originality of this preclinical research and its contribution to the field of immunotherapy were highly evaluated, resulting in its selection as one of the 'TOP 150' abstracts out of more than 1,300 submitted to the conference. Based on these preclinical results, the company plans to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for Phase 1 clinical trials of CT-P72/ABP-102 to major domestic and international institutions within the year and to commence full-scale clinical trials.

A Celltrion representative commented, "The multi-antibody anti-cancer new drug CT-P72/ABP-102 has demonstrated excellent efficacy and safety in preclinical studies and has attracted significant attention by being selected as a 'TOP 150' study at SITC 2025. Moving forward, we will do our utmost to successfully conduct clinical trials and develop this as a 'Best-in-Class' new drug that surpasses existing therapies."

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