Advances in antibody–drug conjugates: A new era of targeted cancer therapy

Abstract

Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), a potent class of anticancer therapeutics, comprise a high-affinity antibody (Ab) and cytotoxic payload coupled via a suitable linker for selective tumor cell killing. In the initial phase of their development, two ADCs, Mylotarg®, and Adcetris® were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating hematological cancer, but the real breakthrough came with the discovery of the breast cancer-targeting ADC, Kadcyla®. With advances in bioengineering, linker chemistry, and potent cytotoxic payload, ADC technology has become a more powerful tool for targeted cancer therapy. In addition, ADCs with improved safety using humanized Abs with a unified ‘drug:antibody ratio’ (DAR) have been achieved. Concomitantly, there has been a significant increase in the number of clinical trials with anticancer ADCs with high translation potential.