Tubulis, a biotech company located at the Innovation and Start-up Center for Biotechnology in Martinsried, presented comprehensive preclinical data on its two lead antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates TUB-030 and TUB-040 at this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in San Diego. The poster presentations contained preclinical data, highlighting the ability of the two next-generation Tubutecan ADCs to create effective and durable responses even in low target-expressing tumor mouse models. Tubulis is leveraging a proprietary suite of platform technologies to build a pipeline of uniquely matched ADC candidates that combine the right targeting molecule, conjugation chemistry and payload to deliver the true therapeutic value of the ADC approach. The company’s lead candidates, both targeting solid tumor indications, are in late-stage preclinical testing, with TUB-040 ready for clinical evaluation.

“These compelling preclinical data sets for both of our lead ADC candidates, TUB-030 and TUB-040, support how our proprietary platforms create ADCs with unique biophysical properties allowing for continued and durable on-tumor delivery of the payload. The in vivo studies have demonstrated that both candidates show strong, long-lasting anti-tumor activity, even at lower expression levels of the respective targets,” said Jonas Helma-Smets, Chief Scientific Officer of Tubulis. “Our ADCs are highly differentiated compared to other ADCs on the market and we look forward to translating these findings into the clinic with the goal of improving overall survival and duration of response in patients across a broad range of solid tumors. Starting with TUB-040, we aim to initiate first clinical trials this year and thereby provide clinical proof-of-concept for our next-generation ADCs and our differentiated platform approach to ADC design.”

Both ADC candidates are comprised of a humanized, target-specific, FC-silenced IgG1 antibody conjugated to the topoisomerase-1 inhibitor Exatecan with Tubulis’ Tubutecan linker-payload platform via the proprietary P5 conjugation platform, resulting in highly stable and homogenous drug-to-antibody-ratio of 8 (DAR8) ADCs. Compared to maleimide-conjugated ADCs, TUB-030 and TUB-040 both showed superior stability and minimal loss of payload.

More highlights on the ADC candidates are available here.

The full abstracts were published in an online-only proceedings supplement to the AACR journal, Cancer Research in March and can be accessed here.

About Tubulis
Tubulis generates uniquely matched protein-drug conjugates through the combination of novel proprietary technologies and disease-specific biologic insight. Our goal is to expand the therapeutic potential of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) by increasing design flexibility while overcoming constraints of toxicity, efficacy and indication. Tubulis will build new conjugates to fill its growing pipeline and will continue to collaborate with industry partners to usher in a new ADC era and deliver better outcomes for patients. Visit Tubulis website www.tubulis.com or follow us on LinkedIn LinkedIn.