---
title: "Antibody-Drug Conjugate Characterization & Evaluation"
canonical: "https://www.pharmalegacy.com/indications/oncology-immuno-oncology/adc-characterization-evaluation/"
lastmod: "2025-07-07T15:13:47+00:00"
generator: "llm-mirrors/1.0.19"
---

By combining the specificity of an antibody with a cytotoxic payload, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have unlocked new oncology treatments with a high therapeutic index, reduced off target side effects and improved tumor clearance. Many new ADC therapies remain to be discovered As new tumor antigens are discovered, new ADC therapies become possible, while new linkers allow delivery of more drug conjugates.
The complexity of ADCs is driven by three separate properties that need to be optimized: antibody specificity, conjugate payload, and linker strategy. Achieving the desired pharmacokinetics can be challenging. You may need to reconcile the desired drug antibody ratio (DAR) and the number of potential conjugation sites. Conjugation methods that are not site-specific result in heterogeneous ADCs that vary in both DAR and conjugation sites, which may lead to off-target, off-tumor effects. Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP) are additional properties you may want to engineer into, or remove from, your ADC. Achieving the right balance of ADCC, CDC, & ADCP requires careful engineering of the antibody and confirmation by in vitro testing. You may also want to optimize for minimal aggregation. PharmaLegacy has the capabilities to design and execute robust assay systems enabling you to optimize all of the many properties of your ADCs and deliver the next breakthrough therapy.
Not working in oncology? We can optimize ADCs in many fields. Second and third generation ADCs are delivering diverse payloads for anti-inflammatories, kinase inhibitors and many other agents. PharmaLegacy has decades of experience working with a wide range of compounds across a multitude of indications.
When creating the next breakthrough ADC you need a robust and experienced partner who can get you accurate answers to your in vitro and in vivo pharmacological questions. With more than 400 FDA / CFDA IND filings and a scientific staff with an average of over 15 years of pharmacology experience, PharmaLegacy can be this partner. Let us efficiently guide your ADC pipeline into human trials.