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In recent years, the field of antibody drug conjugates (ADC) has seen a resurgence, largely driven by the clinical benefit observed in patients treated with ADCs incorporating camptothecin-based topoisomerase I inhibitor payloads. Herein, we present the development of a novel camptothecin ZD06519 (FD1), which has been specifically designed for its application as an ADC payload. A panel of camptothecin analogs with different substituents at the C-7 and C-10 positions of the camptothecin core was prepared and tested in vitro. Selected compounds spanning a range of potency and hydrophilicity were elaborated into drug-linkers, conjugated to trastuzumab, and evaluated in vitro and in vivo. ZD06519 was selected on the basis of its favorable properties as a free molecule and as an antibody conjugate, which include moderate free payload potency (∼1 nmol/L), low hydrophobicity, strong bystander activity, robust plasma stability, and high-monomeric ADC content. When conjugated to different antibodies using a clinically validated MC-GGFG-based linker, ZD06519 demonstrated impressive efficacy in multiple cell line-derived xenograft models and noteworthy tolerability in healthy mice, rats, and non-human primates., (©2024 The Authors; Published by the American Association for Cancer Research.)

Pairing immunostimulatory small molecules with the targeting capability of an antibody has emerged as a novel therapeutic modality with the potential to treat a variety of solid tumors. A series of compounds based on an imidazo-thienopyridine scaffold were synthesized and tested for their ability to agonize the innate immune sensors toll-like receptor 7 and 8 (TLR7/8). Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies revealed that certain simple amino-substituents could enable TLR7 agonism at low nanomolar concentrations. Drug-linkers containing either payload 1 or 20h were conjugated to the HER2-targeting antibody trastuzumab at the interchain disulfide cysteine residues using a cleavable valine-citrulline dipeptide linker and stochastic thiol-maleimide chemistry. In vitro, these immune-stimulating antibody drug-conjugates (ADCs) were found to induce cytokine release in a murine splenocyte assay when co-cultured with the HER2-high NCI-N87 cancer cell line. In vivo, tumor regression was observed with a single dose in an NCI-N87 gastric carcinoma xenograft model in BALB/c nude mice., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: The authors are current/former employees of Zymeworks Inc. and are shareholders in the company., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Synthetic analogs based on the DNA bis-intercalating natural product peptides sandramycin and quinaldopeptin were investigated as antibody drug conjugate (ADC) payloads. Synthesis, biophysical characterization, and in vitro potency of 34 new analogs are described. Conjugation of an initial drug-linker derived from a novel bis-intercalating peptide produced an ADC that was hydrophobic and prone to aggregation. Two strategies were employed to improve ADC physiochemical properties: addition of a solubilizing group in the linker and the use of an enzymatically cleavable hydrophilic mask on the payload itself. All ADCs showed potent in vitro cytotoxicity in high antigen expressing cells; however, masked ADCs were less potent than payload matched unmasked ADCs in lower antigen expressing cell lines. Two pilot in vivo studies were conducted using stochastically conjugated DAR4 anti-FRα ADCs, which showed toxicity even at low doses, and site-specific conjugated (THIOMAB) DAR2 anti-cMet ADCs that were well tolerated and highly efficacious.

Synthetic analogues of the natural occurring dolastatin 10 are of great interest in cancer due to their potent in vitro activity and their uses as payloads in antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). Modification of the dolastatin 10 core scaffold has mainly focused on modifications of the P1, N-terminus, and P5, C-terminus, with minimal attention to the P2 subunit. In this paper we discuss the introduction of heteroatoms to the P2 side chain, which results in potent activity in vitro. The most active compounds contained azides in the P2 unit and required a phenylalanine-derived P5 subunit.

Antibody drug conjugates offer a targeted cancer treatment for the delivery of potent cytotoxic drugs. Derivatives of the natural product dolastatin 10 containing pyridines and other basic amines were examined with the objective of determining if a more hydrophilic auristatin derivative would be potent enough for use as part of an ADC. This may be advantageous if a less hydrophobic drug makes a better ADC. A pyridine derivative, monomethyl auristatin PYE, showed the greatest potency when tested in vivo. While only a modest tumor growth inhibition was observed when the HCC1954 human breast cancer xenografts were treated with"non-cleavable" linker ADCs, tumor regression was seen when treated with an enzymatically degradable "cleavable" linker ADC when conjugated to trastuzumab. Based on these studies, monomethyl auristatin PYE shows promise for use as an ADC payload.