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A bispecific antibody is one antibody with two different grabbing arms, so it can block two targets at once or pull an immune cell onto a cancer cell.
Two families: T-cell engagers (CD3 arm; see separate entry) and dual-target blockers such as amivantamab (EGFR×MET), zanidatamab (HER2 biparatopic), zenocutuzumab (HER2×HER3 for NRG1 fusions), and ivonescimab (PD-1×VEGF), which beat pembrolizumab head-to-head on PFS in NSCLC (HARMONi-2). Bispecifics are also the antibody chassis for the next ADC generation.
Engineered heavy/light chain pairing (knobs-into-holes, CrossMab, DuoBody) yields one molecule with two specificities.
Dependencies are what this technology cannot be delivered without: manufacturing steps, instruments, software, upstream methods. See its full chain on the map.
A two-armed antibody that blocks EGFR and its escape partner MET, now first-line for EGFR-mutant lung cancer with lazertinib.
A Chinese two-armed antibody that blocks PD-1 and CTLA-4 together, approved in China for cervical cancer and extending survival even in PD-L1-negative tumours.
Catumaxomab (Korjuny) is an antibody infused into the abdominal cavity to control malignant ascites, the build-up of fluid caused by cancers such as ovarian and stomach cancer, in people whose other treatments have stopped working.
Ficerafusp alfa is an EGFR antibody fused to a TGF-beta sponge, designed to remove the immune-suppressing signal that keeps HPV-negative throat cancers cold.
QL1706 is Qilu Pharmaceutical's PD-1 plus CTLA-4 antibody mixture, approved in China in 2024 for recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer after platinum chemotherapy.
An Indian-discovered antibody that grips two targets on myeloma cells at once while pulling in T cells to kill them, licensed to AbbVie in 2025 in the biggest deal yet for an Indian cancer drug.
A Chinese bispecific that beat Keytruda head-to-head on progression-free survival in lung cancer, the first drug ever to do so.
M701 is Wuhan YZY Biopharma's EpCAM-CD3 bispecific antibody infused into the abdomen to control malignant ascites, in a phase 3 trial in China.
Obrixtamig is an antibody with two arms: one grabs DLL3, a protein on the surface of most neuroendocrine carcinomas, and the other grabs a T cell, pulling the killer cell onto the cancer. It is in a phase 3 trial for neuroendocrine carcinomas outside the lung.
A two-armed antibody that blocks EGFR while gripping LGR5, a marker of cancer stem cells, so it hits the cells that regrow tumours.
Retlirafusp alfa is Hengrui's PD-L1 and TGF-beta bifunctional antibody, in phase 3 trials with chemotherapy in gastric cancer after the Western class leader bintrafusp alfa failed.
Zanidatamab (Ziihera) is an antibody that grabs HER2 at two different spots, approved for HER2+ bile duct cancer.
Zenocutuzumab is the first drug for cancers driven by NRG1 gene fusions, working by blocking HER3 from receiving its growth signal.
AALL1731 brings immunotherapy into the front-line treatment of the commonest childhood cancer, in the group of children where most relapses were occurring despite good initial risk. Blinatumomab was approved for this use in 2024 and paediatric protocols worldwide are being amended. Whether it can allow less chemotherapy, and its effect on very low-risk children, are the next questions.
For the first time a new drug has beaten pembrolizumab, the global first-line standard, in a randomised lung cancer trial, and it did so by combining checkpoint blockade with anti-angiogenesis in one molecule. For patients outside China nothing changes yet: the drug is not approved in the West, the trial was single-country, and survival benefit has not been shown. If confirmed in the global HARMONi-3 and HARMONi-7 trials, PD-1 x VEGF bispecifics could replace PD-1 antibodies as the immunotherapy backbone.
E1910 changed the standard of care for adult B-ALL: immunotherapy is now part of front-line consolidation even for patients with no detectable leukaemia, because MRD-negative by flow cytometry does not mean cured. It also demonstrated that a T-cell engager can improve overall survival in a curative setting. Chemotherapy-light or chemotherapy-free regimens built on blinatumomab and inotuzumab are the next step.
Patients newly diagnosed with EGFR-mutated advanced lung cancer now have a first-line option that improves survival over osimertinib, particularly if they have high-risk features. The trade-off is intravenous (now subcutaneous) infusions and considerably more skin, nail and clotting toxicity, so osimertinib alone remains reasonable for those who prioritise convenience and tolerability. Both this regimen and osimertinib plus chemotherapy (FLAURA2) are approved; there is no direct comparison.
An off-the-shelf alternative to CAR-T for repeatedly relapsed follicular lymphoma: no apheresis, no manufacturing wait, and a complete response rate in the same range, at the cost of continued treatment rather than a single infusion.
Patients with small-cell lung cancer that has relapsed after chemotherapy now have a drug that works far better than topotecan or lurbinectedin, and it is the first T-cell engager approved for a solid tumour. Treatment requires inpatient monitoring for the first doses because of cytokine release syndrome, which most centres now manage on a short-stay basis. It does not yet apply to first-line treatment, where trials are ongoing.
CD20 x CD3 bispecifics gave patients whose lymphoma has failed CAR-T, or who cannot access it, an effective off-the-shelf treatment that can be started within days. Epcoritamab and glofitamab are now standard third-line options and are moving into earlier lines and combinations. They do not yet replace CAR-T, whose remissions appear more durable.
Elranatamab confirmed that BCMA bispecifics are a class, not a one-off, and its protocol-built dose reduction after response set a precedent for lowering the immunosuppressive burden of T-cell engagers. Patients now have two approved BCMA bispecifics and one against GPRC5D (talquetamab). Choosing between them, and sequencing them with CAR-T, remains guided by availability and toxicity profile rather than head-to-head data.
Query for this technology: (TITLE:"bispecific antibody" OR ABSTRACT:"bispecific antibody" OR TITLE:"bispecific antibodies" OR ABSTRACT:"bispecific antibodies") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about Bispecific antibodies, not a curated reading list.
Shares A Phase III Clinical Study of Cadonilimab Plus SOX as Perioperative Treatment for Patients With Resectable G/GEJ Adenocarcinoma, A Phase III Study of AK104 as Adjuvant Therapy in HCC With High Risk of Recurrence After Curative Resection, A Study of AK112 as Consolidation Treatment for Patients With Limited Stage Small-cell Lung Cancer Who Have Not Progressed Following Concurrent Chemor, An Exploratory, Multi-cohort Phase II Study of Combination Therapy With AK104 and AK112 for Recurrent Ovarian Cancer.
Shares A Study of Combination Therapy With Amivantamab and Cetrelimab in Participants With Metastatic Non-small Cell Lung Cancer, A Study of Amivantamab Alone or in Addition to Other Treatment Agents in Participants With Head and Neck Cancer, A Study of Amivantamab and Capmatinib Combination Therapy in Unresectable Metastatic Non-small Cell Lung Cancer, A Study of Amivantamab and Olomorasib Combination Therapy in Participants With Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.
Shares Michael Dickinson, Step-up dosing (T-cell engagers), IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Policlinico Sant'Orsola, CD20 bispecific antibodies: step-up dosing, fixed duration and what it is like to take one.
Shares A Study of Amivantamab in Participants With Advanced or Metastatic Solid Tumors Including Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR)-Mutated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Enhanced Dermatological Care to Reduce Rash and Paronychia in Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGRF)-Mutated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Treated First-line With Amivantamab Plus Lazertinib, A Study of Amivantamab in Combination With Lazertinib, or Amivantamab in Combination With Platinum-Based Chemotherapy, for Common Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR)-Mutated Locally Advanced or Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), CHRYSALIS.
Shares A Study of Ivonescimab, Chemotherapy, and Stereotactic Radiosurgery for People With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Clinical Study of Ivonescimab for First-line Treatment of Metastatic NSCLC Patients With High PD-L1, A Study of Ivonescimab in Combination With Enfortumab Vedotin vs Pembrolizumab in Combination With Enfortumab Vedotin in Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma, HARMONi-3.
Shares A Trial of Tarlatamab in Patients With Pretreated Extensive-stage Small Cell Lung Cancer (ES-SCLC) and ECOG PS 2, Study Investigating Tarlatamab (AMG 757) in Patients With Metastatic/Locally Advanced Small-Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) and Other Poorly Differentiated Neuroendocri, Tarlatamab for the Treatment of Extensive Stage Small-cell Lung Cancer, Radiation Combined With BIspecific T-Cell Engager in DLL3 Expressing Tumors.
Shares Mosunetuzumab against rituximab in low tumour burden follicular lymphoma, CD20 bispecific antibodies: step-up dosing, fixed duration and what it is like to take one, Immunoglobulin replacement after CAR-T, bispecifics and long anti-CD20 treatment, EPCORE NHL-1: epcoritamab, a subcutaneous CD20 x CD3 bispecific, in relapsed large B-cell lymphoma including after CAR-T.
Shares Step-up dosing (T-cell engagers), Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, University Hospital Würzburg, Safety and efficacy of odronextamab in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, CD20 bispecific antibodies: step-up dosing, fixed duration and what it is like to take one.