Validation of ADC Platform for Protein Concentration and the Drug-Antibody Ratio (DAR) using Variable Pathlength Technology

Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) are biopharmaceutical drugs which are designed to treat cancer by targeting and killing the cancerous cells while leaving the healthy tissue intact. ADCs are comprised of an antibody connected to a cytotoxic drug by a linkerThe antibody targets a specific antigen which is present in cancerous cells but not healthy cells. The ADC binds to the cancer cell and becomes internalized where the cytotoxic drug is released and kills the cancer cell. Two important pieces of information required about the ADC are the protein concentration and the Drug-Antibody Ratio (DAR). The DAR is the number of drug molecules attached to the antibody. It is important during the manufacturing steps to ensure that the process is proceeding as expected and that there is not more or less drug present than required.