Disialoganglioside GD2, a relevant tumor antigen, is overexpressed on numerous malignancies as melanomas, leptomeningeal cancers, osteosarcomas and neuroblastomas. The chimeric anti-GD2 antibody ch14.18 is presently applied in clinical trials for targeting GD2 overexpressing advanced melanoma and osteosarcoma, as well as neuroblastoma.
For developing an active immunotherapy, we defined peptide mimics of the 14.18 epitope on GD2. By biopanning a random peptide phage display library with the antibody, thirteen GD2 mimotope candidates could be identified.