Real-Time Live Cell Imaging In Successful Antibody-Drug Conjugate Development

By Robert J. Francis, Natasha Carter, Grant Harradence, Robert Cunningham, Nathan Shaw, Adele Kinsey, Maryam Ahmadi, Erika Kovacs, Robert Holgate, and Campbell Bunce, Abzena

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) represent a burgeoning class of targeted therapeutics poised to revolutionize cancer treatment. ADCs harness the specificity of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to deliver potent cytotoxic payloads directly to malignant cells, minimizing collateral damage to healthy tissues. Developability assessment, encompassing both the antibody and payload components, constitutes a cornerstone of ADC drug discovery, guiding lead selection and optimization.

Comprehensive understanding of ADC action, encompassing the distinct activities of the antibody and the cytotoxic drug, is crucial for generating efficacious new candidates. In this context, live-cell imaging techniques, from the accessible Incucyte platform to high-resolution spinning disk confocal microscopy, offer invaluable insights into the mechanisms underlying successful drug design.

Learn how leveraging visualization of critical cellular responses can enable live-cell imaging to illuminate factors favoring effective payload delivery and tumor cell death, thereby increasing the likelihood of identifying clinically translatable ADC leads.