Tebentafusp

Tebentafusp is a gp100 peptide-HLA-directed CD3 T cell engager. It is a bispecific, fusion protein and first-in-class drug of immune-mobilizing monoclonal T cell receptors against cancer (ImmTACs), a recently developed cancer immunotherapy with a novel mechanism of action. ImmTACs bind to target cancer cells that express a specific antigen of interest and recruit cytotoxic T cells to lyse the cells, such as melanocytes.

Uveal melanoma is a rare ocular tumour with often poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Even after surgical ablation or removal of the ocular tumour, almost 50% of patients with uveal melanoma develop metastatic disease. On January 26, 2022, tebentafusp was first approved by the FDA for the treatment of HLA-A*02:01-positive adults with unresectable or metastatic uveal melanoma. This approval marks the first bispecific T cell engager to be approved by the FDA to treat a solid tumour and being the first and only therapy for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic uveal melanoma to be approved by the FDA. Tebentafusp was subsequently approved for the same indication in the EU in April 2022.