Antibody-Drug Conjugates, In Simple Terms, Provide "Deactivated" Cytotoxins To Cancer Cells
Antibody drug conjugates are highly targeted biopharmaceutical therapies that combine monoclonal antibodies specific for surface antigens found on specific tumour cells with extremely potent anticancer chemicals coupled by chemical linkers. Antibody-drug conjugates, in simple terms, provide "deactivated" cytotoxins to cancer cells. Internalization allows the cytotoxin to restore its full cancer-killing cytotoxic activity inside the tumour cell. As a result, cell death is hastened. There are thousands of cellular poisons available, many of which are obtained from natural sources or chemically produced, but only a few are acceptable for use in antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Antibody-Drug Conjugates attach biodegradable, stable linkers to monoclonal antibodies to deliver very effective cytotoxic anticancer drugs to cancer cells and distinguish between cancer and normal tissue. Cleavable or non-cleavable linkers are available.Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) are a novel type...