Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2010 Mar-Apr;2(2):129-36.
doi: 10.4161/mabs.2.2.11221.

Catumaxomab: clinical development and future directions

Rolf Linke  1 , Anke Klein, Diane Seimetz
Affiliations
Review

Catumaxomab: clinical development and future directions

Rolf Linke et al. MAbs. 2010 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Catumaxomab, a monoclonal bispecific trifunctional antibody, was approved in the European Union in April 2009 for the intraperitoneal treatment of patients with malignant ascites. The marketing authorization holder Fresenius Biotech GmbH developed catumaxomab (Removab(®)) together with its partner TRION Pharma GmbH, Germany. It is the first substance worldwide with a regulatory label for the treatment of malignant ascites due to epithelial carcinomas. Since the peritoneum is of mesothelial origin and therefore lacks EpCAM expression, the intraperitoneal administration of catumaxomab is an attractive targeted immunotherapeutic approach. Catumaxomab is able to destroy EpCAM positive tumor cells in the peritoneal cavity known as the main cause of malignant ascites. In addition, catumaxomab is a potential therapeutic option for several primary tumors since the EpCAM molecule is expressed on the majority of epithelial carcinomas. This review focuses on the clinical development of catumaxomab and indicates future directions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The postulated mechanism of action of catumaxomab: The intact trifunctional antibody catumaxomab accelerates the recognition and destruction of tumor cells by different immune cells. ADCC, antibody-dependent cellular toxicity; DC-CK1, dendritic cell cytokine 1; iL, interleukin; IFNγ, interferon gamma; TnFα, tumor necrosis factor alpha; LFA, lymphocyte function antigen; nK, natural killer; GM-CSF, granulocyte monocyte colony stimulating factor.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ascites symptoms: The benefit of the catumaxomab therapy was also confirmed in the assessment of ascites symptoms.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Incidence of pyrexia, nausea and vomiting: The expected and manageable cytokine release related symptoms did not increase during treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lindhofer H, Mocikat R, Steipe B, Thierfelder S. Preferential species-restricted heavy/light chain pairing in rat/mouse quadromas. Implications for a single-step purification of bispecific antibodies. J Immunol. 1995;155:215–219. - PubMed
    1. Zeidler R, Reisbach G, Wollenberg B, Lang S, Chaubal S, Schmitt B, et al. Simultaneous Activation of T Cells and Accessory Cells by a New Class of Intact Bispecific Antibody Results in Efficient Tumor Cell Killing. J Immunol. 1999;163:1246–1252. - PubMed
    1. Riesenberg R, Buchner A, Pohla H, Lindhofer H. Lysis of prostate carcinoma cells by trifunctional bispecific antibodies (αEpCAM × αCD3) J Histochem Cytochem. 2001;49:911–917. - PubMed
    1. Ruf P, Lindhofer H. Induction of a long-lasting antitumor immunity by a trifunctional bispecific antibody. Blood. 2001;98:2526–2534. - PubMed
    1. Litvinov SV, Bakker HAM, Gourevitch MM, Velders M, Warnaar SO. Evidence for a role of the epithelial glycoprotein 40 (Ep-CAM) in epthelial cell-cell adhesion. Cell Adhes Commun. 1994;2:417–428. - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources