Anti-AXL antibodies and compositions

1. An anti-AXL antibody or an antigen-binding portion thereof, wherein said antibody comprises the H-CDR1-3 and L-CDR1-3 amino acid sequences of:

a) SEQ ID NOs: 45-50, respectively;

b) SEQ ID NOs: 15-20, respectively;

c) SEQ ID NOs: 5-10, respectively;

d) SEQ ID NOs: 25-30, respectively;

e) SEQ ID NOs: 35-40, respectively; or

f) SEQ ID NOs: 55-60, respectively.

2. The anti-AXL antibody or antigen-binding portion of claim 1 , wherein said antibody comprises a heavy chain variable domain amino acid sequence and a light chain variable domain amino acid sequence that are at least 90% identical to the amino acid sequences of:

a) SEQ ID NOs: 43 and 44, respectively;

b) SEQ ID NOs: 13 and 14, respectively;

c) SEQ ID NOs: 3 and 4, respectively;

d) SEQ ID NOs: 23 and 24, respectively;

e) SEQ ID NOs: 33 and 34, respectively; or

f) SEQ ID NOs: 53 and 54, respectively.

3. The anti-AXL antibody or antigen-binding portion of claim 1 , wherein said antibody comprises a heavy chain variable domain and a light chain variable domain comprising the amino acid sequences of:

a) SEQ ID NOs: 43 and 44, respectively;

b) SEQ ID NOs: 13 and 14, respectively;

c) SEQ ID NOs: 3 and 4, respectively;

d) SEQ ID NOs: 23 and 24, respectively;

e) SEQ ID NOs: 33 and 34, respectively; or

f) SEQ ID NOs: 53 and 54, respectively.

4. The anti-AXL antibody of claim 1 , wherein the antibody is of isotype subtype IgG 1 .

5. The anti-AXL antibody of claim 1 , wherein the antibody is of isotype subtype IgG 1 and comprises a mutation from Leu to Ala in either or both of heavy chain amino acid positions 234 and 235, which are numbered according to the Eu numbering scheme.

6. An anti-AXL antibody that comprises:

a) a heavy chain (HC) comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 43 and 61 and a light chain (LC) comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 44 and 62;

b) an HC comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 13 and 61 and an LC comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 14 and 62;

c) an HC comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 3 and 61 and an LC comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 4 and 62;

d) an HC comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 23 and 61 and an LC comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 24 and 62;

e) an HC comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 33 and 61 and an LC comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 34 and 62; or

f) an HC comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 53 and 61 and an LC comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 54 and 62.

7. The anti-AXL antibody or antigen-binding portion of claim 1 , wherein the antibody or antigen-binding portion has at least one property selected from:

a) binds to human AXL with a K D of 3×10 −8 M or less;

b) binds to cynomolgus AXL with a K D of 8×10 −8 M or less;

c) does not bind to mouse AXL;

d) binds to the Ig1 or Ig2 domain of human AXL;

e) inhibits binding of GAS6 to human AXL;

f) inhibits proliferation of H1299 cells in vitro in the presence of GAS6;

g) does not exhibit agonistic activity in the absence of GAS6;

h) inhibits GAS6-induced uptake of phosphatidylserine-containing liposomes in MDA-MB-468-AXL cells stably expressing exogenous AXL; and

i) inhibits tumor growth in vivo.

8. A pharmaceutical composition comprising an anti-AXL antibody or antigen-binding portion of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.

9. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 8 , further comprising an immunostimulatory agent, a vaccine, a chemotherapeutic agent, an anti-neoplastic agent, an anti-angiogenic agent, or a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

10. Isolated nucleic acid molecule(s) comprising a nucleotide sequence that encodes the heavy chain sequence, and a nucleotide sequence that encodes the light chain sequence, of the anti-AXL antibody of claim 1 .

11. The isolated nucleic acid molecule(s) of claim 10 , comprising the nucleotide sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 41, 42, 11, 12, 1, 2, 21, 22, 31, 32, 51, and 52.

12. Vector(s) comprising the isolated nucleic acid molecule(s) of claim 10 , wherein said vectors further comprise expression control sequences operably linked to the nucleotide sequences.

13. A host cell comprising a nucleotide sequence that encodes the heavy chain sequence, and a nucleotide sequence that encodes the light chain sequence, of the anti-AXL antibody or antigen-binding portion of claim 1 .

14. A method for producing an anti-AXL antibody or an antigen-binding portion thereof, comprising providing a host cell of claim 13 , culturing said host cell under conditions suitable for expression of the antibody or portion, and isolating the resulting antibody or portion.

15. A bi-specific binding molecule comprising the antigen-binding portion of an anti-AXL antibody of claim 1 and the antigen-binding portion of another, distinct antibody.

16. A method for treating cancer in a human patient, comprising administering to said patient a therapeutically effective amount of the anti-AXL antibody or antigen-binding portion of claim 1 .

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the cancer is in a tissue selected from the group consisting of skin, lung, intestine, colon, ovary, brain, prostate, kidney, soft tissues, the hematopoietic system, head and neck, liver, bone, bladder, breast, stomach, uterus, cervix, and pancreas.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the cancer is melanoma, head and neck cancer, glioblastoma, thyroid cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, fallopian tube carcinoma, primary peritoneal carcinoma, endometrial cancer, urothelial carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma, colorectal cancer, rectal cancer, prostate cancer, mesothelioma, squamous cell carcinoma, sarcoma, chronic myeloid leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, small lymphocytic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, or Hodgkin's lymphoma.

19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising administering to the patient an immunostimulatory agent, a vaccine, a chemotherapeutic agent, an anti-neoplastic agent, an anti-angiogenic agent, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, or radiation therapy.