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Bioconjugate Design

Expert design, assured performance

Our expertise covers all components of ADCs including antibodies and targeting proteins, conjugation units, polymers, release linkers and payloads.

Experienced in the development of robust and reliable conjugation methodologies, our pre-clinical discovery teams work with you to optimize your Bioconjugates and ADCs.

In collaboration with you, we design an optimal ADC matrix strategy that allows the selection of an ideal lead candidate based on scientific rationale and progresses your program into development.

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We have developed and have expertise in:

  • Numerous conjugation types including enzymatic, lysine, cysteine, and engineered cysteine
  • Multitudes of antibody drug conjugates and conjugation of antibody fragments, novel carrier proteins, peptides, polymers, nanoparticles, and polysaccharides (see TOOLBOX)
  • Well-known and novel classes of chemotherapies such as auristatins, maytansines, anthracyclines, PBD dimers, camptothecins and
  • duocarmycins
  • Several conjugations of imaging and labeling agents
  • Conjugating other therapeutic molecules such as peptides, poly and oligosaccharides, synthetic polymers, and DNA and RNA based oligomers

Antibodies and targeting carrier proteins

To optimize the design of your molecule, our expert teams apply their extensive experience delivering the required mode of action and Target Product Profile (TPP) properties for your program.

We work with a broad range of target carriers including antibodies, antibody fragments, engineered scaffolds, peptides, and other target carrier proteins.

We take a holistic view of the complete ADC design and development process. We deliver your molecule by applying our thorough understanding of how to build and optimize target carrier proteins giving your highly targeted molecular entity improved functionality.

To deliver the required biological activity for your program, with both efficacy and safety considerations in mind, our experts will apply their knowledge of:

  • Cytotoxic payloads including auristatins, maytansines, anthracyclines, amatoxins, PBD dimers, duocarmycins, and camptothecins
  • Different payloads utilized in novel therapeutic modalities such as immunomodulators including TLR or STING agonists, peptides, oligosaccharides, DNA and RNA based oligomers and oligonucleotides, or chelators for radioimmunotherapy.

We apply optimal linker design to mitigate any issues related to the diverse physical chemical properties and stability characteristics of the conjugated payload.

A wide range of analytics are available to provide appropriate characterization to support the evaluation and development of these diverse bioconjugates.

Payloads (including cytotoxic and immune)

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PEGylation

Accelerating your development timelines, we leverage our unique expertise to solve your challenges associated with designing, producing, characterizing, and testing PEGylated products. We have extensive experience in PEGylating a number of proteins and peptides to extend the half-life of the biological molecule.

We provide a range of both proprietary and non-proprietary PEGylation technologies for use with different molecular weight PEGs, in linear and branched formats.

They have been designed to conjugate PEG to either disulfide bonds, thiols on single cysteines or to poly-histidine motifs.

Bioconjugation Technologies

Our expert bioconjugation team routinely prepares bioconjugates with traditional conjugation chemistries stochastically targeting lysine or cysteine residues. Additionally, we have extensive experience in a range of site-specific conjugation technologies which include:

  • Site-specific functionalization of native antibodies using enzymatic conjugation
  • Technologies targeting remodeled glycans
  • Antibodies incorporating engineered cysteines, non-natural amino acids, and enzymatic conjugation tags

Abzena has strong expertise in disulfide rebridging conjugation approaches with stable, homogenous, single DAR conjugates available through a proprietary technology.

Driven by the Target Product Profile (TPP), an appropriate conjugation strategy will be designed.

For proof of concept evaluation, linker assembly utilizing click chemistry allows for rapid and efficient modulation of its constitutive elements to evaluate:

  • the influence of payload type;
  • release mechanisms;
  • drug loading;
  • conjugation; and
  • solubilizing moieties.

Our experts develop robust conjugation processes maximizing conversion to the target species and purification strategies allowing isolation with high recoveries and purity.

Critical Process Parameters (CPP) are identified at an early stage to ensure development of a conjugation process, accelerate your lead candidate, and scale up of your manufacturing.

Let’s move medicine forward.

The asset you’re developing right now can make a real difference for human health. Let us use our wealth of experience to deploy the best technologies, shorten lead times and implement effective risk mitigation strategies.

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