Synergistic effects between auristatin-based antibody drug conjugates and inhibitors of the PI3K-AKT mTOR pathway

1. A method for treating cancer in a subject, comprising administering to a subject in need thereof an auristatin-based antibody drug conjugate and an inhibitor of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway, wherein cells of the cancer express an antigen internalizable on binding of the antibody of the antibody drug conjugate, which antigen is CD19, CD30 or CD70, and the inhibitor is an active site mTOR inhibitor and the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway is constitutively activated in the cells of the cancer, and the cancer is a hematological malignancy expressing CD19, CD30 or CD70 or renal cell carcinoma expressing CD70, wherein the auristatin-based antibody drug conjugate and the inhibitor of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway act synergistically in killing cancer cells in an in vitro or animal model of the cancer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the cancer is a lymphoma or renal cell carcinoma.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the active site mTOR inhibitor is a selective mTOR inhibitor or a dual specificity inhibitor of P13K and mTORC1/2.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the auristatin based antibody drug conjugate has the following formula:

L-(LU-D) p   (I)

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof;

wherein:

L is the antibody of the antibody drug conjugate; and

(LU-D) is a Linker unit-Drug unit moiety, wherein:

LU- is a Linker unit, and

-D is an auristatin having cytostatic or cytotoxic activity against the target cells; and

p is from 1 to 20.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the auristatin has the formula:

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the auristatin based antibody drug conjugate has the formula:

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein the auristatin based antibody drug conjugate has the formula:

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof,

wherein a and y are independently 0 or 1.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the auristatin based antibody drug conjugate has the formula

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof

wherein S is a sulfur atom of the antibody L.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the auristatin based antibody drug conjugate has the formula:

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof, wherein mAb is a monoclonal antibody, S is a sulfur atom of the monoclonal antibody, and p is from 1 to 8 or about 2 to about 6.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the cancer cells express the CD30 antigen and the auristatin based antibody drug conjugate is an anti-CD30 auristatin based antibody drug conjugate.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the cancer is Hodgkin Lymphoma.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the auristatin based antibody drug conjugate is a cAC10-vcE antibody drug conjugate.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the cAC10-vcE antibody drug conjugate is brentuximab vedotin.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the cancer cells express the CD70 antigen and the auristatin based antibody drug conjugate is an anti-CD70 auristatin based antibody drug conjugate.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the cancer is renal cell carcinoma or NHL.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the auristatin based antibody drug conjugate is h1F6-mcF.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the h1F6-mcF antibody drug conjugate is SGN-75.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the cancer cells express the CD19 antigen and the auristatin based antibody drug conjugate is an anti-CD19 auristatin based antibody drug conjugate.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the cancer is diffuse large B cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia or acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the auristatin based antibody drug conjugate is hBU12-mcF.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the hBU12-mcF conjugate is SGN-19A.