Discovery of TE & PD biomarkers to advance antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) development

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have emerged as a promising class of targeted therapeutics, leveraging the unique cell-specific binding abilities of monoclonal antibodies to deliver cytotoxic drugs directly into cancer cells. This combination of specificity and potency supports the accurate, efficient delivery of anticancer drug “payloads” to their site of action for enhanced therapeutic effect with less side effects. To date, however, ADC drug response still varies widely across patients. This challenge stems largely from the inherent heterogeneity of ADCs and their targets.

Assessments of target engagement (TE) and pharmacodynamic (PD) response can provide insight into the payload’s interaction at the tumor to better understand drug response and identify patients in which a given ADC therapy would be most efficacious. Continued success in ADC development will depend on the ability to discover dynamic PD and TE biomarkers.