Anti-HER2 antibody-maytansine conjugates and methods of use thereof

1. A conjugate comprising at least one modified amino acid residue of formula (I):

wherein

Q 1 is C or N, wherein if Q 1 is N, then Y 1 is absent;

Y 1 is selected from hydrogen, halogen, alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, alkynyl, substituted alkynyl, alkoxy, substituted alkoxy, amino, substituted amino, carboxyl, carboxyl ester, acyl, acyloxy, acyl amino, amino acyl, alkylamide, substituted alkylamide, sulfonyl, thioalkoxy, substituted thioalkoxy, aryl, substituted aryl, heteroaryl, substituted heteroaryl, cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, heterocyclyl, and substituted heterocyclyl;

R 1 is selected from hydrogen, alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, alkynyl, substituted alkynyl, aryl, substituted aryl, heteroaryl, substituted heteroaryl, cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, heterocyclyl, and substituted heterocyclyl;

R 2 and R 3 are each independently selected from hydrogen, alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, alkynyl, substituted alkynyl, alkoxy, substituted alkoxy, amino, substituted amino, carboxyl, carboxyl ester, acyl, acyloxy, acyl amino, amino acyl, alkylamide, substituted alkylamide, sulfonyl, thioalkoxy, substituted thioalkoxy, aryl, substituted aryl, heteroaryl, substituted heteroaryl, cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, heterocyclyl, and substituted heterocyclyl, or R 2 and R 3 are optionally cyclically linked to form a 5 or 6-membered heterocyclyl;

L is a linker comprising -(T 1 -Z 1 ) a -(T 2 -Z 2 ) b -(T 3 -Z 3 ) c -(T 4 -Z 4 ) d , wherein a, b, c, and d are each independently 0 or 1, where the sum of a, b, c, and d is 3 or 4;

T 1 is selected from a (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl and a substituted (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl;

T 2 is piperidin-4-amino (4AP);

T 3 is selected from a (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl and a substituted (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl;

T 4 , if present, is (AA) p , wherein p is an integer from 1 to 20;

Z 1 , Z 2 , Z 3 , and Z 4 are each independently selected from the group consisting of a covalent bond and —CO—;

W 1 is a maytansinoid; and

W 2 is an anti-HER2 antibody comprising a modified sulfatase motif comprising the modified amino acid residue of formula (I).

2. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein:

piperidin-4-amino is

and

R 12 is selected from hydrogen, an alkyl, a substituted alkyl, a polyethylene glycol moiety, an aryl and a substituted aryl.

3. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , and T 4 and Z 1 , Z 2 , Z 3 , and Z 4 are selected from the following table:

T 1

Z 1

T 2

Z 2

T 3

Z 3

T 4

Z 4

(C 1 -C 12 )alkyl

—CO—

4AP

—CO—

(C 1 -C 12 )alkyl

—CO—

(AA) p

—

(C 1 -C 12 )alkyl

—CO—

4AP

—CO—

(C 1 -C 12 )alkyl

—CO—

—

—.

4. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein L is selected from one of the following structures:

wherein

each f is independently 0 or an integer from 1 to 12;

each n is independently 0 or an integer from 1 to 30;

each p is independently 0 or an integer from 1 to 20;

each R is independently hydrogen, alkyl, substituted alkyl, a polyethylene glycol moiety, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, alkynyl, substituted alkynyl, alkoxy, substituted alkoxy, amino, substituted amino, carboxyl, carboxyl ester, acyl, acyloxy, acyl amino, amino acyl, alkylamide, substituted alkylamide, sulfonyl, thioalkoxy, substituted thioalkoxy, aryl, substituted aryl, heteroaryl, substituted heteroaryl, cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, heterocyclyl, and substituted heterocyclyl; and

each R′ is independently H, a sidechain group of an amino acid, alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, alkynyl, substituted alkynyl, alkoxy, substituted alkoxy, amino, substituted amino, carboxyl, carboxyl ester, acyl, acyloxy, acyl amino, amino acyl, alkylamide, substituted alkylamide, sulfonyl, thioalkoxy, substituted thioalkoxy, aryl, substituted aryl, heteroaryl, substituted heteroaryl, cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, heterocyclyl, and substituted heterocyclyl.

5. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein the maytansinoid is of the formula:

where indicates the point of attachment between the maytansinoid and L.

6. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein the anti-HER2 antibody binds an epitope within Domain I, Domain II, Domain III, or Domain IV of HER2.

7. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein the anti-HER2 antibody binds an epitope within amino acids 561-625 or within amino acids 529-625 of SEQ ID NO: 1.

8. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein the anti-HER2 antibody is huMAb4D5-8.

9. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein the modified sulfatase motif of the anti-HER2 antibody comprises a sequence of the formula (II):

X 1 (FGly′)X 2 Z 20 X 3 Z 30   (II)

wherein

FGly′ is the modified amino acid residue of formula (I);

Z 20 is either a proline or alanine residue;

Z 30 is a basic amino acid or an aliphatic amino acid;

X 1 may be present or absent and, when present, can be any amino acid, with the proviso that when the sequence is at the N-terminus of the conjugate, X 1 is present; and

X 2 and X 3 are each independently any amino acid.

10. The conjugate of claim 9 , wherein the sequence is L(FGly′)TPSR (SEQ ID NO: 222).

11. The conjugate of claim 9 , wherein

Z 30 is selected from R, K, H, A, G, L, V, I, and P;

X 1 is selected from L, M, S, and V; and

X 2 and X 3 are each independently selected from S, T, A, V, G, and C.

12. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein the modified amino acid residue is positioned at a C-terminus of a heavy chain constant region of the anti-HER2 antibody.

13. The conjugate of claim 12 , wherein the heavy chain constant region comprises the modified sulfatase motif, which comprises a sequence of the formula (II):

X 1 (FGly′)X 2 Z 20 X 3 Z 30   (II)

wherein

FGly′ is the modified amino acid residue of formula (I);

Z 20 is either a proline or alanine residue;

Z 30 is a basic amino acid or an aliphatic amino acid;

X 1 may be present or absent and, when present, can be any amino acid, with the proviso that when the sequence is at the N-terminus of the conjugate, X 1 is present; and

X 2 and X 3 are each independently any amino acid, and

wherein the sequence is C-terminal to the amino acid sequence SLSLSPG (SEQ ID NO: 223).

14. The conjugate of claim 13 , wherein the heavy chain constant region comprises the sequence SPGSL(FGly′)TPSRGS (SEQ ID NO: 224).

15. The conjugate of claim 13 , wherein

Z 30 is selected from R, K, H, A, G, L, V, I, and P;

X 1 is selected from L, M, S, and V; and

X 2 and X 3 are each independently selected from S, T, A, V, G, and C.

16. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein the modified amino acid residue is positioned in a light chain constant region of the anti-HER2 antibody.

17. The conjugate of claim 16 , wherein the light chain constant region comprises the modified sulfatase motif, which comprises a sequence of the formula (II):

X 1 (FGly′)X 2 Z 20 X 3 Z 30   (II)

wherein

FGly′ is the modified amino acid residue of formula (I);

Z 20 is either a proline or alanine residue;

Z 30 is a basic amino acid or an aliphatic amino acid;

X 1 may be present or absent and, when present, can be any amino acid, with the proviso that when the sequence is at the N-terminus of the conjugate, X 1 is present; and

X 2 and X 3 are each independently any amino acid, and

wherein the sequence C-terminal to the sequence KVDNAL (SEQ ID NO: 123), and/or is N-terminal to the sequence QSGNSQ (SEQ ID NO: 124).

18. The conjugate of claim 17 , wherein the light chain constant region comprises the sequence KVDNAL(FGly′)TPSRQSGNSQ (SEQ ID NO: 125).

19. The conjugate of claim 17 , wherein

Z 30 is selected from R, K, H, A, G, L, V, I, and P;

X 1 is selected from L, M, S, and V; and

X 2 and X 3 are each independently selected from S, T, A, V, G, and C.

20. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein the modified amino acid residue is positioned in a heavy chain CH1 region of the anti-HER2 antibody.

21. The conjugate of claim 20 , wherein the heavy chain CH1 region comprises the modified sulfatase motif, which comprises a sequence of the formula (II):

X 1 (FGly′)X 2 Z 20 X 3 Z 30   (II)

wherein

FGly′ is the modified amino acid residue of formula (I);

Z 20 is either a proline or alanine residue;

Z 30 is a basic amino acid or an aliphatic amino acid;

X 1 may be present or absent and, when present, can be any amino acid, with the proviso that when the sequence is at the N-terminus of the conjugate, X 1 is present; and

X 2 and X 3 are each independently any amino acid, and

wherein the sequence is C-terminal to the amino acid sequence SWNSGA (SEQ ID NO: 126) and/or is N-terminal to the amino acid sequence GVHTFP (SEQ ID NO: 127).

22. The conjugate of claim 21 , wherein the heavy chain CH1 region comprises the sequence SWNSGAL(FGly′)TPSRGVHTFP (SEQ ID NO: 128).

23. The conjugate of claim 21 , wherein

Z 30 is selected from R, K, H, A, G, L, V, I, and P;

X 1 is selected from L, M, S, and V; and

X 2 and X 3 are each independently selected from S, T, A, V, G, and C.

24. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein the modified amino acid residue is positioned in a heavy chain CH2 region of the anti-HER2 antibody.

25. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein the modified amino acid residue is positioned in a heavy chain CH3 region of the anti-HER2 antibody.

26. A pharmaceutical composition comprising:

a conjugate of claim 1 ; and

a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.