Molecular Hitman

Since the first description of cancer by the great Greek physician Hippocrates, mankind has been battling with this demonic disease throughout the recorded history of medicine. With its sustained high mortality rate and a worldwide epidemic, cancer is still regarded as a terminal condition despite the tremendous efforts made in finding a cure. Conventional cancer therapies (surgery, chemo or radiation therapies) are only effective under limited circumstances and are often accompanied by severe side-affects.

In search of better alternatives for cancer therapies arose the concept of targeted therapy, which utilizes a cargo to deliver drugs specifically to cancer cells and results in their selective extermination. This concept is well demonstrated and elaborately executed by antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

A typical ADC combines the accurate targeting mechanism of a monoclonal antibody with the efficacy of a highly toxic drug via a small molecular linker. In the blood stream, an ADC tracks down cancer cells by recognizing the cancer surface antigens via the antibody portion and eliminates the targets by incorporating and releasing the loaded toxic drug (payload) into the cells, a process often referred to as receptor mediated endocytosis.

Due to their high specificity, good efficacy, increased therapeutic windows for otherwise highly cytotoxic drugs, and most importantly, the worldwide recognition of the targeted therapy concept, ADCs—the “molecular hitmen”, are trending as the new dawn for immunotherapy. With only few FDA approved ADC medications available on the market, it is a promised land with great potential and might ultimately provide us with the means to conquer cancer.

As a recognized leader in antibody engineering, full chemical synthesis, and bio-conjugation, Creative Biolabs aims to help clients develop customized ADC products to promote the concept of targeted therapy. With years of experience and hard work, we have demonstrated our competency. Creative Biolabs is very proud of the numerous ADCs and ADC-related products we have prompted and our comprehensive one-stop-shop ADC development services, which include but not limited to:

• Antibody Screening:

We help identify, optimize, and humanize target specific antibodies using our phage display and antibody humanization services. Subsequently, internalizing antibodies are screened either via internalizing antibody screening service or the application of the Anti-Ab ADCs.

• DrugLnk:

Highly toxic cytotoxins are used as drug (payload) in ADCs. The payloads are usually first conjugated with a linker to form a drug-linker complex, which is later coupled with the antibody via compatible conjugation chemistry. While payloads dictate the nature of the pharmacological effects, linkers regulate the payload release mechanism inside cancer cells. Creative Biolabs helps you design, optimize, and synthesis the drug-linker complex for the best results.

• Antibody Design and Conjugation:

Antibody sequences can be modified to accommodate the insertion of special conjugation sites, such as extra Cys residues (THIOMAB), Selenocysteine, unnatural amino acids (UAAs)…. The proteoglycan chains on the Fc region are also susceptible for modifications by means of glycosyl-substitutions. The modified antibodies are conjugated with the drug-linker complexes to form the ADCs and characterized.

• ADC in vitro Analysis:

The in vitro efficacy of an ADC has to be demonstrated before moving on to the in vivo evaluation stage. This set of analyses contain basic biochemical analysis and in vitro efficacy analysis including target affinity tests, internalization assays, cytotoxicity assays, antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) as well as complement dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) assays.

• ADC in vivo Analysis:

The last stage in pre-clinical ADC development is to evaluate its in vivo efficacy and pharmacokinetics (PK), including its distribution, metabolism, catabolism, and excretion characteristics. Last but not the least, the safety of the ADC will also be assessed.

With a full understanding of the uniqueness and intricacy in ADC development, the scientists at Creative Biolabs are dedicated to offer professional consultation, high-quality services and products to help your project progress in the desired direction. You will find detailed information regarding our ADC development services and the products we offer on this website. Please contact us for consultation or a discussion to see how we can be involved in your projects!

For Research Use Only. NOT FOR CLINICAL USE.