Seattle Genetics and Collaborators Highlight Multiple Ab-Drug Conjugate (ADC)
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Seattle Genetics, Inc. announced that research related to its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology was presented in multiple sessions at the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) being held in Washington, D.C. Three data presentations highlight the rapid progress being made in ADC technology and testing. This includes preclinical data evaluating ADCs using a potent and newly developed cytotoxic agent, pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) dimer, against two targets, CD33 and CD70. The former, SGN-CD33A, is expected to be advanced into a phase 1 clinical trial in 2013 for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In addition, preclinical data demonstrate activity of a new ADC for metastatic breast cancer, SGN-LIV1A, utilizing the same proprietary ADC technology as ADCETRIS® (brentuximab vedotin). The company also presented research on a novel method for making highly stable linkers, an advance that is being evaluated for potential future ADCs. In addition, many of the company’s collaborators, including Genentech, Pfizer, Progenics and Genmab, are reporting preclinical and clinical data from multiple ADC programs utilizing Seattle Genetics’ proprietary ADC technology.
“As the leader in developing ADCs for the treatment of cancer, we are focused on both the current and future technology of this important class of therapeutics. More than half of the ADCs currently in clinical development utilize our technology, and we continue to advance additional candidates, such as SGN-CD33A and SGN-LIV1A, at a rapid pace. We are also looking at ways to enhance the next generation of ADCs, and believe that new potent cytotoxic agents such as PBD dimers, advances in antibody technology such as engineered cysteine antibodies (EC-mAbs), and highly stable linkers are part of that future,” said Jonathan Drachman, M.D., Senior Vice President, Research and Translational Medicine at Seattle Genetics. “We are driven to test these ADC advances quickly because cancer patients need new options to fight this relentless disease.”
ADCs are designed to harness the targeting ability of antibodies to deliver cell-killing agents directly to cancer cells. This approach is intended to spare non-targeted cells and thus reduce many of the toxic effects of traditional chemotherapy while enhancing antitumor activity. Seattle Genetics and its collaborators have ten data presentations at AACR that highlight the widespread evaluation of its ADC technology to potentially impact the way cancer is treated in a meaningful way.
