A team led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has developed bispecific antibodies that were able to target tumors driven by mutations in the tumor suppressor TP53 and the oncogene RAS, as well as subsets of T cells in T-cell malignancies.

DUBLIN – Affimed NV has found another taker for its tetravalent bispecific antibody-based innate cell engager (ICE) platform. Roivant Sciences GmbH is putting down $40 million in cash, plus another $20 million of its own stock, as part of a multiprogram alliance involving AFM-32 plus additional molecules directed at targets not currently addressed by Affimed’s pipeline. Some $2 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestones are also attached to the deal.

Bispecific: It might sound to some like a self-contained contradiction, as in “doubly singular” or “twice particular.” But if the word “specific” is taken in its primary meaning as “clearly defined or identified,” then the matter becomes clear – and, in the case of bispecific antibodies, it’s becoming clearer by the year.