Chemical Assembly of Antibody-Drug Conjugates

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a rapidly expanding class of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer. Currently, two ADCs are FDA approved and over 60 are in clinical trials. Although many ADCs involve non-specific drug attachment via lysine and cysteine residues, the desire to produce homogeneous ADCs has led to the development of several site-specific chemical assembly strategies. The first site-specific ADCs are just beginning to enter clinical trials and are expected to have improved efficacy with reduced toxicity.