Sutro Biopharma, Inc., a clinical-stage drug discovery, development, and manufacturing company, has made significant advancements in the field of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Their innovative XpressCF+® Platform has paved the way for the development of tumor-targeting immunostimulant ADCs (iADCs.)
What is Sutro Biopharma?
Sutro Biopharma is at the forefront of discovering, developing, and manufacturing cancer therapeutics through a compelling and distinctive approach.
Dedicated to finding a lasting therapeutic for cancer patients, Sutro’s platform has yielded a range of innovative treatments, including ADCs, bispecific antibodies, cytokine-based immuno-oncology therapies, and vaccines that specifically target well-established indications in clinical settings where the existing standard of care is deemed suboptimal.
What makes Sutro different?
Sutro’s therapies deviate from conventional methods by targeting more than just cell-based discovery, which is commonly employed in the majority of oncology treatments.
According to Sutro, many ADC therapeutics have great potential but show limitations in clinical trials. In contrast, Sutro’s platform provides meticulous control over the structure of ADCs. By incorporating non-natural amino acids (nnAA) at precise locations within the antibody structure, Sutro can develop ADCs that exhibit uniform structures, facilitating a clearer understanding of their functionality.
Furthermore, Sutro’s ability to rapidly generate diverse ADC variants with different nnAA positions allows for comprehensive analysis, enabling the identification of optimal configurations at an early stage of the discovery process.
Sutro’s therapeutics include optimizing the efficiency of incorporating nnAA into the antibody structure, creating stable linkers and warheads, and ensuring the safety and effectiveness of the ADCs. They can control the location of the drug within the antibody and the ratio of drug to antibody with great precision, resulting in highly optimized ADCs that can kill targeted cells, but also activates iADCs to combat any other tumors within the surrounding microenvironment.
Sutro’s iADC
Current clinical trials
Sutro is currently advancing two company-owned clinical-stage programs that focus on creating new therapies for unmet needs of patients. STRO-001 and STRO-002 are both in the middle of trials.
A February 2023 article in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics noted STRO-002 is a potential treatment for ovarian and endometrial cancer. Research shows the ADC technology binds tightly to the FolRa protein (which is the protein found in said cancers) and kills them entirely.
The compound of STRO-002 was also reported to be extremely stable.
STRO-002 is still in a phase 1 clinical trial to study its overall safety and how well it will work if mass produced.
Sutro is a member of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).
