London-based investment managers Downing LLP has financed the project – which is equivalent to $1.5m – to advance ADC Biotechnology’s (ADC Bio) bioconjugation method, as well as help the contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) secure more US contracts.
ADC Bio’s method undertakes bioconjugation for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) after the monoclonal antibody (mAb) and cytotoxic have been made, and purifies both elements at the same time.
The method employs the firm’s Lock-Release technology platform to separate the antibodies from each other through binding to a solid phase bead, and therefore is not reliant on Protein A capture resin.
Compared to other conventional techniques, ADC Bio’s bioconjugation method “involves use of a solid-phase conjugation approach that is advantaged by its ability to avoid aggregation,” said CEO Charlie Johnson.
The Wales, UK-based company makes ADCs efficiently without having to go through production and purification of an isolated antibody intermediate in a precursor step, he added.
According to Johnson, the method will help advance the manufacture of new therapies.
“The manufacture of ADCs for First in Man clinical trials is where lead times are critical," he added. “It will cut down significantly the lead-time for supply of ADCs into clinical trials and will lower the cost of manufacturing.”