Biomed news ..A61031 Feb 2026 20:51
Several oncology companies, including Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca, have developed or licensed antibody-drug conjugates based on exatecan derivatives. These ADCs use monoclonal antibodies to target cell surface antigens like HER2 or TROP2, delivering the payload upon internalization. While clinically effective, these ADCs face challenges including low antigen expression in some tumors, limited penetration in large or fibrotic tumors, and off-target effects in normal tissues that express the same antigens at lower levels.
AVA6103 takes a different route. It bypasses surface receptor targeting and instead leverages a tumor-expressed enzyme to trigger release of its payload. This extracellular cleavage strategy, enabled by a proprietary peptide linker that is selectively cleaved by FAP, offers two theoretical advantages: deeper tissue penetration due to the small size of the PDC and reduced off-target toxicity due to limited systemic exposure. Whether these benefits can be realized in humans remains to be seen, but the approach carves out a distinct niche in the exatecan development landscape.