Linker Selection: Design Choice or Default Choice?
02 Sept 2026
ADC Linker Design & Conjugation Technologies
- How much of ADC linker selection is rational design versus platform default, and how rigorously are linker choices tested against alternatives?
- Are we over-indexing on linker chemistry rather than the properties of the released payload or catabolite (charge, permeability, polarity, and retention) that shape therapeutic index?
- How well do linker design principles established with cytotoxic ADC payloads translate to larger, more polar, or mechanistically distinct payloads?
- Which preclinical assays best predict linker-related PK, tolerability, and efficacy, and what are the biggest gaps between the data we generate and the decisions we need to make?
Industry Expert
