Bi-specific T-cell Engagers (BiTEs) in Cancer Treatment - Carl Kolvenbach

Wednesday, January 25, 2017 7 PM
CLU Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center, 130 Overton Court, rooms 253/254 (second floor)

Bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs) are innovative engineered bispecific monoclonal antibody constructs intended for the treatment of cancer. These molecules enhance the patient’s immune response to tumors by engaging T cells with tumor cells.  BiTEs have been engineered to differ both structurally and mechanistically from monoclonal antibodies.  Structurally, they are constructed of two single-chain variable fragments (scFv) connected by a flexible linker (the business end of an antibody).  Mechanistically, one scFv binds to a T-cell-specific molecule, and the second scFv binds to a tumor-associated antigen (equivalent to two different full length antibodies).  The BiTE links a T cell to a tumor cell, ultimately stimulating T-cell activation.  The result is tumor cell death. BiTEs have been developed for a variety of both hematological and solid tumors. Several BiTEs are currently in clinical trials.

Carl Kolvenbach

Carl Kolvenbach is a senior scientist in the Attribute Sciences group in Process Development at Amgen, Inc. He has been working at Amgen for 28 years. He first started in the protein chemistry group where he worked for 8 years purifying and characterizing proteins expressed in various expression systems. He worked a total of 11 years in the protein formulation group where he functioned as a formulation team lead formulating mAbs for first in human clinical trials and more recently, he has been in the Attribute Sciences group functioning as an Attribute Sciences Team Lead where he works with a team to develop analytical assays, and works on authoring IND documents for filing with regulatory agencies. He has published in a number of peer reviewed journals including Journal of Protein Chemistry, Journal of Peptide Research, International Journal of Peptide and Protein Research, and Biotechnology and Applications in Biochemistry. Carl obtained his bachelor's degree in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point and is mid-way through the MBA program at California Lutheran University.