Synthesis and evaluation of homocamptothecin antibody-drug conjugates for cancer treatment

As an emerging tumor therapeutic strategy, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) overcome the high toxicity of traditional small molecule chemotherapy and improve the targeting of treatment. In this study, we successfully constructed a novel ADC, Tras-16b, for the first time using homocamptothecin 16b as the payload. Tras-16b, at a dose of 3 mg/kg, exhibited comparable anti-tumor activity to Enhertu and demonstrated an enhanced safety profile in the NCI–N87 xenograft model. Notably, this is the first ADC developed based on homocamptothecin, marking a significant advancement with promising prospects for the structural modification of camptothecin ADCs.