Kristel Kemper
Director, Team Lead early Translational Medicine & Research Genmab
Kristel Kemper earned her PhD in 2012 from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with her thesis titled “Molecular Identification and Targeting of Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells.” During her postdoctoral research at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, she explored resistance mechanisms to the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib using melanoma patient-derived xenografts.
In 2017, Dr. Kemper joined Genmab as a Scientist, where she was responsible for the development of therapeutic antibodies with an emphasis on oncology. She now serves as the team lead responsible for the early Translational Medicine & Research projects at Genmab. In this capacity, she oversees the design and implementation of translational strategies for novel antibody compounds in preclinical and early clinical development, including the formulation of biomarker strategies for first-in-human trials.
Seminars
- This presentation will discuss optimisation strategies for distinct T-cell–targeting modalities, focusing on (i) CD3 affinity modulation in T-cell engagers to improve the benefit–risk profile and (ii) adaptation of dosing frequency for T-cell costimulatory bispecific antibodies to enhance T-cell fitness and durability of antitumour immune responses in the clinic
- For CD3 affinity tuning, comparative in vitro and in vivo studies of two B7-H4– targeting CD3 bispecific antibodies demonstrated that lowering CD3 affinity resulted in reduced potency of tumour cell killing and cytokine secretion. The reduced potency was associated with better tolerability in cynomolgus monkeys
- For conditional T-cell co-stimulation, clinical data with acasunlimab (DuoBody- PD-L1×4-1BB) in combination with pembrolizumab show that a less frequent dosing paradigm results in intermittent target engagement, allowing for periods of T-cell rest and leading to improved magnitude and quality of anti-tumour immune responses
