The last two decades saw an unprecedented expansion in the study of human biology, with advances in human genetics, cancer genomics, stem cell biology, bioinformatics and systems biology all paving the way for new therapies. In the future, advances not only in medicinal chemistry but in areas such as protein engineering, antibody drug conjugates, bispecifics and immunotherapies will bring new targets into reach.

Explore some of the technologies and platforms we are using to discover and develop innovative medicines.

Bispecifics

Our bispecific platform is a technology that holds great promise. In the past, this has been referred to as DVD platform. In fact, this platform is capable of producing a wide range of different bispecific formats and DVD is just a small portion. These bispecific formats have a broad range of protein binding and biologic characteristics.

In oncology, we view our bispecific platform as a path to new biology rather than simply to combination therapy. For example, we are studying the uses of our bispecifics to enhance the performance of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). In preclinical systems, we can show that a bispecific that binds to two portions of the same molecular target is taken up in the cancer cells better than a traditional ADC. This could deliver a greater toxin load, thereby enhancing efficacy.

Similarly, a bispecific that binds to two molecular targets from the same cancer cell can be used to increase tumor specificity, allowing us to prosecute targets that had some degree of expression in normal tissue. With our bispecific platform, we are able to create a wide range of protein constructs, ultimately leading to new biology with different mechanisms of action.

ADCs

ADCs represent a proven technology platform that delivers a therapeutic agent directly to where it’s needed using precise targeting of an antibody.

An ADC takes a highly potent toxin, one that is too potent to be administered systemically, and couples it to a monoclonal antibody so that it can be delivered directly to cancer cells, sparing normal tissue. The idea behind ADCs is not new, but it is only recently that the progress in target identification, antibody engineering, linker chemistry and toxin technology have come together to make this a promising platform.

Our strength in discovering and developing highly specific monoclonal antibodies and our experience in small molecule chemistry and analytics make ADCs a strong focus area of development for AbbVie.

Nanoparticles and protein capsules

The complex and intricate system of cells that carries blood to the brain and spinal cord tissue is difficult to penetrate with biologic medicines. That’s why we are exploring new ways to cross the blood-brain barrier with nanoparticles and protein capsules. These innovative drug delivery systems may lead to advances in discovering and developing new medicines to treat diseases of the brain, like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Immuno-oncology and immunotherapies

In oncology, we want to turn up the immune system to attack tumors, while for immunological diseases, we want to turn it down because it’s doing damage by attacking normal tissue inappropriately. The key to treating both types of diseases may involve immunotherapies.

For example, there is a constant battle between the immune system and tumors. Tumors use various mechanisms to avoid destruction by immune cells. One of the ways they do that is by engaging checkpoint receptors on immune cells. Checkpoint molecules are key off switches in immune cells and their activation blocks an immune response to target what is identified as “foreign” in the body. When tumors engage these checkpoints, it makes it difficult for immune cells to identify the tumor as something they need to attack, thereby dampening their activity. The biggest breakthrough in immunotherapy in recent years came when scientists discovered that disrupting these checkpoint receptors could activate immune cells and result in antitumor responses.

The antitumor activity of checkpoint inhibitors teaches us that tumors can be controlled by the immune system, but checkpoint blockade is only one approach. We have been looking at various approaches beyond checkpoint inhibitors for several years.

Biologics manufacturing

Success in biologics manufacturing is largely measured by product reproducibility. Through sophisticated cell line development, cell culture manufacturing and quality control, we overcome the complexity of large molecule manufacturing to deliver consistent drug performance. Our expertise in biologics is rooted in having developed the first fully human monoclonal antibody. Today, our biologics manufacturing team continues to be leaders in the field, providing scientific support for all aspects of our manufacturing. Our team partners with R&D and our contract manufacturing clients to scale up and transfer new products into commercial manufacturing sites, troubleshoot technical problems associated with product manufacturing or laboratory tests and identify and implement process enhancements to increase yields or throughput. We support chemical and fermentation drug substances, sterile and non-sterile drug products, analytical test methods and devices as enablers of drug delivery.