GEN News: Bioconjugates Meet and Promise to Exceed Expectations
A compelling recent article, “Bioconjugates Meet and Promise to Exceed Expectations,” from GEN News, explores the groundbreaking advancements and enhanced effectiveness of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and bioconjugate technologies in cancer treatment and beyond.
One of the fastest-growing segments of pharmaceuticals, as highlighted at the 2024 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, is the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) segment. ADCs consist of four main elements: a monoclonal antibody (mAb) designed to target a particular cancer-associated antigen; an active, anticancer cytotoxic payload; a linker that cleaves off the payload inside cancer cells; and the conjugation technology that stably attaches the linker and payload to the antibody.
The first ADC, Mylotarg, was approved in 2000, and as of October 2023, 15 additional ADCs have been approved by the FDA for treatment of a variety of cancers. Examples include Enhertu, a HER2-directed antibody and topoisomerase inhibitor conjugate; Padcev, a nectin-4-directed antibody and microtubule inhibitor conjugate; and Trodelvy, a Trop-2-directed antibody and topoisomerase inhibitor drug conjugate. In addition, Padcev and Keytruda combination therapy was approved in 2023 for first-line treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer.
“This streamlines all ADC product development activities from drug target identification to commercial production,” says Jimmy Li, PhD, the CEO of WuXi XDC. “It greatly reduces the risk of project hand-offs, intellectual property drift, and excessive transaction and audit costs.” To provide dual sourcing, a new Singaporean manufacturing base is expected to commence operations by 2026.
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