Reference: PTDC/BTM-SAL/32085/2017
Funding Agency: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)
PI: Frederico Aires da Silva (FMV)
Period: 2018-2021
Grant: 239.000€

Abstract:

Cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide, and is still one of the most challenging diseases to battle. Chemotherapy is at the core of current cancer therapy, however, is often accompanied by toxicity to the patient. Monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) against antigens on cancer cells offer an alternative tumor-selective treatment approach. However, most mAbs are not sufficiently potent to be therapeutically active on their own. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) seem to be the solution to overcome the major problems related to the cytotoxic drugs and the mAbs on their own. Although ADCs are in the spotlight, with two of them approved, they still pose significant engineering challenges and drawbacks. Within this context, there is a pressing need to identify and develop more stable and effective ADC molecules. Thus, in the present call we propose to explore the properties of rabbit derived single-domain scaffolds to develop a new generation of “smart bomb” ADC molecules for cancer treatment.