SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 15, 2013 – Sutro Biopharma, a biopharmaceutical company developing a new generation of protein therapeutics utilizing Sutro’s cell-free protein synthesis technology, presented today the first data involving a dual-warhead antibody drug conjugate (ADC) at the World ADC Summit in San Francisco.

Trevor Hallam, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Sutro, reported the data in a presentation titled “Producing Homogeneous ADCs with Combination Warheads,” demonstrating that Sutro can combine two or more mechanistically diverse warheads precisely in a single ADC. Next-generation ADCs have the potential to efficiently kill tumors while limiting their ability to develop resistance to the cytotoxic conjugates.

“This data shows that Sutro’s technology can take ADCs a stage further, in this case enabling the creation of dual-warhead ADCs with two different cytotoxic agents attached to the targeting antibody, which may address the challenge of drug resistance in cancer” said Dr. Hallam. “The ability to create a unique ADC has the potential to expand the number of cancers that can be treated using this type of drug, and we look forward to continuing to partner with companies looking to develop next-generation ADCs and bispecific antibodies as well as build our internal pipeline.”

Following the successful launch of Adcetris™ and Kadcyla™, the industry has begun to focus on new generations of ADCs that promise to be even more precise and effective at delivering cytotoxic “warheads” to tumors. Central to these approaches has been the optimization of new generation ADC molecules using technologies to conjugate the cytotoxic payloads precisely, resulting in a product containing a single homogeneous molecular species, rather than the mixture of species that comprise the approved ADCs to date.

Sutro has formed multiple partnerships with biopharma companies utilizing its technology, including a collaboration with Celgene Corporation to design and develop novel ADCs and bispecific antibodies as well as manufacture a proprietary Celgene antibody, and a partnership with Pfizer for the research, development and commercialization of novel peptide-based therapeutics.

About Sutro Biopharma

Sutro Biopharma, located in South San Francisco, is developing a new generation of antibody drug conjugate therapeutics and bifunctional antibody-based therapeutics for targeted cancer therapies. These therapeutics will significantly extend the clinical impact of current oncology therapeutic approaches and are beyond what can be envisioned with current, cell-based expression technologies. Sutro’s biochemical synthesis technology, which underpins these therapeutics, allows the rapid and systematic exploration of many protein drug variants to identify drug candidates. Once these product candidates are identified, production can be rapidly and predictably scaled up to commercial levels. Sutro has established a Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) facility for the production of clinical supplies of materials using its biochemical protein synthesis platform. Sutro is collaborating with pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the discovery and development of novel protein therapeutics.

Contact: