What are antibody drug conjugates used for?
Antibody-drug conjugates or ADCs are a class of biopharmaceutical drugs designed as a targeted therapy for treating cancer. Unlike chemotherapy, ADCs are intended to target and kill tumor cells while sparing healthy cells.
How does an antibody drug conjugate work?
Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) are a new class of highly potent biological drugs built by attaching a small molecule anticancer drug or another therapeutic agent to an antibody, with either a permanent or a labile linker. The antibody targets a specific antigen only found on target cells.
What does it mean to conjugate a drug?
Conjugation, in this context, is the process of covalently linking drugs or prodrugs to various natural or synthetic molecule carriers for specific applications, e.g. polymers, polypeptides or proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates (Figure 24.12).
What is ADC analysis?
Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) characterisation and analysis presents a range of complex challenges, all of which must be addressed to support successful product registration. ADCs are produced by covalently linking a monoclonal antibody via a chemical linker to small molecule potent cytotoxic drug.
How many ADCs are approved?
To date, ten ADCs have been approved by the FDA, namely Adcetris®, Kadcyla®, Besponsa®, Mylotarg®, Polivy®, Padcev®, Enhertu®, Trodelvy®, Blenrep®, and Zynlonta™, with exclusively oncology indications (Table 1, Figure 2a).
Are antibody drug conjugates considered immunotherapy?
Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) are a form of targeted immunotherapy. They are composed of three components: a monoclonal antibody (mAb) and a cytotoxic payload made from a chemotherapy agent, which are connected together using a chemical linker.
How are antibody drug conjugates used in cancer treatment?
Since the approval of first ADC (Gemtuzumab ozogamicin (trade name: Mylotarg)) for the treatment of CD33-positive acute myelogenous leukemia, several ADCs have been developed for the treatment of cancer. The goal of an ADC as a cancer agent is to release the cytotoxic drug to kill the tumor cells without harming the normal or healthy cells.
How does an antibody-drug conjugate ( ADC ) work?
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are biopharmaceutical products where a monoclonal antibody is linked to a biologically active drug (a small molecule) forming a conjugate.
Which is a unique property of antibody-drug conjugates?
The unique property of antibody-drug conjugates is that these so-called armed antibodies selectively dispatch highly potent cytotoxic anticancer chemotherapies directly to cancer cells while, at the same time, leaving healthy tissue unaffected. [1,2]
How are antibodies attached to biologically active drugs?
Monoclonal antibodies are attached to biologically active drugs by chemical linkers with labile bonds. By combining the unique targeting of mAbs with the cancer-killing ability of cytotoxic drugs, antibody-drug conjugates allow sensitive discrimination between healthy and diseased tissue.