Evaluation of the in vitro biological activity of biosimilar and biobetter versions of rituximab developed in Bio-Manguinhos for lymphoma treatment

Introduction: Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have revolutionized cancer treatment since the approval of Rituximab for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). New anti-CD20 antibodies have been developed, including biosimilars and biobetters. Biosimilars are mAbs that have the same amino acid sequence as the reference mAb (commercial therapeutic product) but are produced by other manufacturing processes. Biobetters have the same target epitope as the reference mAb, however they do have some structural modifications to make it better than the reference mAb. Since many patients do not respond to treatment with anti-CD20 antibodies, biobetters appear as a valid alternative for the treatment of NHL. The main mode of action of these anti CD20 mAbs is through Antibody-Dependent Cellular Citotoxicity (ADCC), involving the activation of Natural Killers (NK) cells. These cells can act through the interaction of receptors such as NKG2D with its ligands (NKG2DL) found on the surface of target cells. Our group proposes the development of a biosimilar of rituximab and the creation of a biobetter antibodies based on the addition of an NKG2D ligand to the mAb structure.