Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), combining the best features of monoclonal antibodies and small molecule drugs, are considered the “guided missiles” for cancer therapy, with eleven FDA-approved products. Yet the ADC modality still presents a huge challenge to drug developers, especially for targeting tumors with low abundance and/or heterogeneity of tumor-associated antigens. To improve therapeutic index and minimize drug product heterogeneity, a recent study by Procopio-Melino et al. [1] describes a revolutionary manufacturing process that produces superior quality next-generation site-specific cysteine (Cys)-based ADCs. It implements a unique Cys-capping technology for chemoselective-drug conjugation through a novel metabolic engineering approach in CHO cells. This innovative platform also provides a feasible path forward to integrate Cys-based site-specific conjugation with other site-specific conjugation methodologies for developing
multi-payload ADCs.
Keywords
Antibody drug conjugates, Cancer and the Immune System, Cancer immunotherapy, Cancer Therapy, Multi-payload ADCs