Catalent's SMARTag ADC Stands Out In The Crowd Of HER2-Targeted Conjugates

By Penelope Drake, Ph.D., Head of R&D, Bioconjugates, Catalent Biologics

The steadily growing number of HER2-targeted antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in preclinical development is a testament to the success of the original anti-HER2 ADC, Kadcyla^® (adotrastuzumab emtansine/T-DM1⁽¹⁾), which comprises the trastuzumab antibody appended through a noncleavable linker to the potent microtubule inhibitor payload, maytansine. T-DM1 was the first approved ADC against a solid tumor indication⁽²⁾, and its efficacy showed the promise of HER2-targeted therapies; follow-on molecules have been designed with the goal of improving upon this first-generation drug and thereby continue to raise the bar for patient outcomes. However, the sheer number of follow-on candidates makes it difficult to keep track of the state-of-the-art, and for those not immersed in the field, it can be hard to differentiate among the many iterations in order to find the true innovations in the crowd.