Is gosatuzumab/Todavir a targeted therapy drug?

Gosatuzumab/Trodelvy (Trodelvy) is a new type of targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) specifically used to treat multiple types of advanced solid tumors, especially in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). It has shown significant efficacy. From the perspective of its mechanism, gosatuzumab does belong to the category of targeted therapy drugs. It combines the targeting specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the potent killing ability of cytotoxic drugs, and is one of the major developments in the field of tumor treatment in recent years.

Specifically, gosatuzumab consists of two parts: one is a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody targetingTrop-2 (human tumor-associated cadherin antigen 2), and the other is SN-38, the active metabolite of the cytotoxic drug irinotecan. Trop-2 is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is widely expressed in a variety of solid tumor cells of epithelial origin, including breast cancer, bladder cancer, lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer, while its expression in normal tissues is relatively low. Therefore, gosatuzumab can accurately recognize and bind to Trop-2-positive tumor cells, release SN-38 on their surface, induce DNA damage in cancer cells and ultimately trigger cell apoptosis, thereby achieving the anti-cancer effect of "targeted blasting". This targeted release mechanism greatly reduces toxic damage to normal tissue.

Since receiving accelerated approval from the US FDA for the treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer in 2020, the drug's indications have continued to expand and now cover metastatic urothelial carcinoma, HR+/HER2- breast cancer, and are exploring the potential to treat non-small cell lung cancer and other Trop-2-positive solid tumors.

Clinical research data shows that gosatuzumab has improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with chemotherapy in multiple tumor types. It is especially suitable for patients who have received multiple lines of treatment and whose disease has progressed rapidly. Common adverse reactions include neutropenia, diarrhea, nausea, alopecia, etc., but most are controllable and reversible toxic reactions.

Reference materials:https://www.trodelvy.com/