Systems biology driving drug development: from design to the clinical testing of the anti-ErbB3 antibody seribantumab (MM-121).

The ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases comprises four members: epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/ErbB1), human EGFR 2 (HER2/ErbB2), ErbB3/HER3, and ErbB4/HER4. The first two members of this family, EGFR and HER2, have been implicated in tumorigenesis and cancer progression for several decades, and numerous drugs have now been approved that target these two proteins. Less attention, however, has been paid to the role of this family in mediating cancer cell survival and drug tolerance. To better understand the complex signal transduction network triggered by the ErbB receptor family, we built a computational model that quantitatively captures the dynamics of ErbB signaling. Sensitivity analysis identified ErbB3 as the most critical activator of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and Akt signaling, a key pro-survival pathway in cancer cells. Based on this insight, we designed a fully human monoclonal antibody, seribantumab (MM-121), that binds to ErbB3 and blocks signaling induced by the extracellular growth factors heregulin (HRG) and betacellulin (BTC). In this article, we present some of the key preclinical simulations and experimental data that formed the scientific foundation for three Phase 2 clinical trials in metastatic cancer. These trials were designed to determine if patients with advanced malignancies would derive benefit from the addition of seribantumab to standard-of-care drugs in platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer, hormone receptor-positive HER2-negative breast cancer, and EGFR wild-type non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). From preclinical studies we learned that basal levels of ErbB3 phosphorylation correlate with response to seribantumab monotherapy in mouse xenograft models. As ErbB3 is rapidly dephosphorylated and hence difficult to measure clinically, we used the computational model to identify a set of five surrogate biomarkers that most directly affect the levels of p-ErbB3: HRG, BTC, EGFR, HER2, and ErbB3. Preclinically, the combined information from these five markers was sufficient to accurately predict which xenograft models would respond to seribantumab, and the single-most accurate predictor was HRG. When tested clinically in ovarian, breast and lung cancer, HRG mRNA expression was found to be both potentially prognostic of insensitivity to standard therapy and potentially predictive of benefit from the addition of seribantumab to standard of care therapy in all three indications. In addition, it was found that seribantumab was most active in cancers with low levels of HER2, consistent with preclinical predictions. Overall, our clinical studies and studies of others suggest that HRG expression defines a drug-tolerant cancer cell phenotype that persists in most solid tumor indications and may contribute to rapid clinical progression. To our knowledge, this is the first example of a drug designed and clinically tested using the principles of Systems Biology.

Baker's Yeast-Mediated Reductions of alpha-Keto Esters and an alpha-Keto-beta-Lactam. Two Routes to the Paclitaxel Side Chain.

Baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) has been used to reduce a series of alkyl esters derived from pyruvate and benzoylformate. Both the yield and enantioselectivities of these reductions were maximized when methyl esters were used, and the (R)-alcohols were isolated in all instances. Yeast-mediated ester hydrolysis was a significant side reaction for products derived from long-chain alcohols. In the case of ethyl benzoylformate, the addition of methyl vinyl ketone increased the enantioselectivity of the reduction. These reductions were applied to two syntheses of the paclitaxel C(13) side chain [(2R,3S)-N-benzoyl-3-phenylisoserine]. In the first, a racemic alpha-keto-beta-azido ester was reduced by whole cells of Baker's yeast to afford a diastereomeric mixture in which the desired product predominated and could be isolated chromatographically. In the second, an easily synthesized alpha-keto-beta-lactam was reduced by yeast cells to afford the desired cis isomer as well as the undesired trans diastereomer. Substituting a yeast strain deficient in fatty acid synthase in this reduction suppressed formation of the trans diastereomer. These results suggest that a single enzyme is responsible for both the D- and L-cis-alcohols resulting from reduction of the alpha-keto-beta-lactam. All of the yeast strains used in this project are available commercially, and these biocatalytic reductions require only common laboratory equipment.