Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are hybrid medicines that strap a toxic drug to an antibody, turning the antibody into a guided missile that delivers its payload only to diseased cells. This partnership between GlaxoSmithKline and the University of Strathclyde aims to make those missiles cheaper and faster to build. The problem is twofold. First, the data needed to design ADCs is locked inside individual companies, inaccessible to the wider research community. Second, the chemical reactions used to link drugs to antibodies are slow and inflexible. This project will create a standardised data platform to feed into an artificial intelligence system for designing new ADCs, and develop a toolbox of new chemical reagents to streamline their production. If successful, the partnership could slash the time and energy required to turn an ADC concept into a medicine. That means lower manufacturing costs and a faster pipeline of new treatments for cancer, respiratory disorders, and skin conditions. It also means training the next generation of drug-discovery scientists. The ultimate goal is to help GSK deliver transformative medicines faster—not a distant hypothetical, but a concrete industrial process that the team intends to accelerate.
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GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is a leading global healthcare company that discovers, develops and manufactures medicines for respiratory disorders, cancer, heart disease, and skin conditions like psoriasis. GSK manufactures over 4 billion packs of medicines each year, with the goal of addressing society's healthcare grand challenges. GSK continually seeks to improve the efficiency, efficacy and sustainability of new medicines. One area of interest to GSK is the expansion of their antibody drug conjugate (ADC) portfolio. Antibody-drug conjugates are hybrid medicines based on attaching antibodies to small molecule drugs, which improves the targeting of the medicine. ADCs combine the ability to deliver medicines to diseased cells and tissues a drug payload of interest. The advantage of ADCs over conventional medicines is they have the potential to reduce side effects associated with a drug by only delivering the it to the diseased parts of the body. This Prosperity Partnership aims to build on an existing vibrant collaboration between GSK and the University of Strathclyde (UoS). The strengths of each partner will be leveraged to deliver a range of new methods and approaches to address some of the major challenges in the discovery, development, and application of ADCs and a broader array of bioconjugates. Our vision is to increase the efficiency of discovering and turning ADCs into future medicines in terms of the time and energy it takes to make new medicines. Our approaches and research will mean that transformative new ADCs will be made at lower costs, with a greater speed of production, and turn into new medicines at a much faster pace. The two key challenge areas covered in our partnership include: 1. The curation and standardisation of data acquisition across the entire landscape of experimental analysis of an ADC. The use of data in designing ADCs is usually protected by individual companies and are not accessible to researchers. We will develop a standardised data analytical platform that forms the basis for an artificial intelligence informed decision-making process towards the end of the partnership. This will help the broader pharmaceutical industry and academics to successfully design new medicines based on ADCs. 2. Making Next generation ADCs. The discovery and development of new ADCs require efficient and flexible chemical reactions to link drugs to antibodies. We will develop a toolbox of new reagents to facilitate the more expedient and streamlined preparation of ADCs. Through integrating the individual scientific themes of the projects, and the expertise from both GSK and the University of Strathclyde, we will make a major contribution to the wider pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. We will also train and develop the next generation of the drug discovery workforce that will develop future medicines based on ADCs. Finally, a key outcome of this partnership will be to assist GSK in achieving its mission of discovering and developing transformative medicines faster to help people do more, feel better, and live longer.
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