Antibody-drug Conjugate/ADC Related

Antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) is typically composed of a monoclonal antibody (mAbs) covalently attached to a cytotoxic drug via a chemical linker. It combines both the advantages of highly specific targeting ability and highly potent killing effect to achieve accurate and efficient elimination of cancer cells, which has become one of the hotspots for the research and development of anticancer drugs. Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) are an innovative family of agents assembled through linking cytotoxic drugs (payloads) covalently to monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to be delivered to tumor tissue that express their particular antigen, with the theoretical advantage of an augmented therapeutic ratio. Once the ADC reaches the target cells, the mAb component recognizes and binds to the cell surface antigens, and the ADC–antigen complex is then internalized within the cancer cell by endocytosis to form an early endosome, which, following a maturation, forms late endosomes and finally fuses with lysosomes. The cytotoxic drug payload is then released from the mAb via either a chemical reaction or enzyme digestion in the lysosomes, and exerts its cytotoxic effect, causing cell apoptosis or death. Several emerging ADC formats exist, including bispecific ADCs, conditionally active ADCs (also known as probody–drug conjugates), immune-stimulating ADCs, protein-degrader ADCs and dual-drug ADCs, and each offers unique capabilities for tackling these various challenges. Consequently, compared with conventional chemotherapies, ADCs can have enhanced antitumour efficacy, leading to improved clinical benefit and quality of life outcomes. The considerable success of this emerging drug modality in patients with various types of cancer is demonstrated by the availability of 11 FDA-approved ADCs for at least 21 specific indications .