Is gaffetuzumab a targeted drug or an immune drug?

Glofitamab (Glofitamab) is a bispecific monoclonal antibody with a special structure. It should be classified as an immunotherapy drug in a strict sense, but it also has certain targeted drug properties. Its innovative mechanism is to simultaneously recognize CD20 on the surface of tumor B cells and CD3 on the surface of T cells, thereby establishing a "bridge" between the immune system and the tumor, inducing T cells to accurately recognize and attack malignant B cells, thereby achieving the purpose of treating hematological tumors. Since its mechanism of action is not to directly inhibit tumor cell proliferation or block signaling pathways, but to activate the human immune system to eliminate tumor cells, the medical community prefers to classify it as a bispecific T cell engaging antibody (BiTE) in "immune drugs".

Compared with traditional targeted drugs, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) or single-receptor antibody drugs (such as rituximab), gratinumab is more dependent on the immune environment and is accompanied by typical immune side effects, such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS), fever, hypotension, etc., which are also common features of most immunotherapies. In terms of target selection, both CD20 and CD3 are specific immune cell markers with good specificity. Therefore, they also have the selective attack characteristics of certain "targeted" drugs, but this does not mean that they are targeted therapies in the traditional sense.

In addition, the use of gaffetuzumab requires the hospital to haveCRS treatment and first aid capabilities, as well as specialized pre-treatment and in-hospital observation. This usage scenario also reflects its characteristics that are more in line with immunotherapy management. Therefore, although it works by "targeting" CD20 and CD3, it essentially still belongs to the category of modern immuno-oncology therapeutic drugs and is one of the representative drugs in T cell-redirecting therapy.

Reference materials:https://www.drugs.com/glofitamab.html