Protein hydras: enhancing the cytotoxic potential of antibody drug conjugates (ADC)

Antibody drug conjugates (ADC) are a therapeutic innovation, currently used as anti-cancer agents. They combine the selectivity of antibodies, a component of the body’s defence mechanism, with the toxic potential of certain small-molecule drugs. Despite their promise as a therapy, they have suffered setbacks due to side-effects related to their synthesis, which results in many different materials being formed.

I will use both chemical and biological methodologies to create modular materials, with enhanced drug loading that will generate single products and therefore revolutionise current ADC production methods.

These developments will produce step changes in methodology and will provide a platform that, in the longer term, will enable the generation of new and powerful therapeutic agents.