Amgen’s T cell engager Imdelltra (tarlatamab) has gained FDA accelerated approval for an aggressive type of cell lung cancer that is notoriously difficult to treat.

The bispecific antibody is designed to bind both delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3) on small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cells and CD3 on T cells. Pharma companies have long considered DDL3 a promising target in oncology because healthy cells express it only in the cytoplasm, whereas 85–96% of SCLCs express it at high levels on the tumor cell surface. By binding DDL3 on the one hand and CD3 on T cells on the other, the T cell engager brings the patient’s own immune cells and cancer cells into physical proximity, enabling the activated T cells to attack and kill DLL3-expressing cancer cells.