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Artificial Intelligence May Open New Possibilities for Antibody–Drug Conjugate Development
October 7, 2026
A new review explores how artificial intelligence (AI) and computational biology could transform the development of antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), from target selection to the prediction of treatment efficacy and safety. Published in the prestigious international journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, the study was led by Atanasio Pandiella, with Prof. Dr. Balázs Győrffy, Director of the Institute for Transdisciplinary Discoveries at the Medical School of the University of Pécs, as a co-author.
Antibody–drug conjugates are targeted anticancer therapies that combine an antibody capable of recognizing cancer cells with a highly potent cytotoxic drug. The aim is to deliver the active substance primarily to tumor cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissues.
The development of ADCs is highly complex, requiring the optimization of several components, including the molecular target, antibody, linker and cytotoxic payload. According to the review, AI-based approaches could support many of these steps by analyzing large-scale genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic datasets and identifying potential therapeutic targets.
AI can also contribute to optimizing antibody properties, selecting suitable linkers and payloads, and predicting aspects such as drug stability, distribution and potential toxicity. Computational approaches may further help researchers understand how ADCs interact with heterogeneous tumor tissues and how differences between individual tumor cells could influence treatment response.
The authors emphasize, however, that AI-based approaches still face important challenges. Their performance depends on the quality and completeness of available data, while computational predictions require appropriate laboratory and clinical validation.
Overall, the review highlights the potential of combining artificial intelligence, molecular biology and drug development to support the creation of more precisely targeted and potentially safer anticancer therapies. The authors also point to possible applications of these approaches beyond oncology, including autoimmune, neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
Reference:
Ocana A, Espinosa JR, Alonso-Moreno C, Győrffy B, Tong H, Pandiella A. Antibody-drug conjugate engineering: from design to efficacy and safety. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. 2026;11:401.
DOI: 10.1038/s41392-026-03057-w.