AACR 2025 – Chicago: Highlights and Event Recap

The AACR Annual Meeting 2025 was held in Chicago, IL from April 25-30, and featured the latest advancements in cancer research, with hundreds of poster presentations, lectures, and exhibits. Scientists, health care professionals, and industry experts from around the world gathered to share innovations and trends in oncology, including: 

• Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) 

• Clinical Research & Clinical Trials 

• Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics 

• Immunology 

• Molecular/Cellular Biology and Genetics 

• Tumor Biology

→ Biointron’s Highlighted Points: 

1. ADCs

• Next generation antibody drug conjugates: 12 FDA approvals and over 280 in clinical trials 

• Insights into ADC properties and design: Lessons from clinical development by Zymeworks  

• Molecular imaging insights into antibody drug conjugates by University Medical Center Groningen 

• ADCs in the clinic: Gaps, controversies, and hopes for the future by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 

2. Clinical Research & Clinical Trials

• First-in-human study of SYS6010, a novel EGFR targeting ADC for patients with advanced solid tumors 

• SHR-A1811, a HER2-directed ADC, in advanced HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) 

• JS107, a claudin 18.2 (CLDN18.2)-targeting ADC, as monotherapy or in combination for patients (pts) with advanced solid tumors 

3. Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics

• Escherichia coli as a platform for the production of full-length IgG antibodies by Butantan Institute 

• Accelerating antibody discovery for difficult targets using mRNA immunization of wild type or humanized mice and BEACON single cell technology 

• ADCs and RLTs show clinical promise but are limited by tumor heterogeneity, which is addressed using small molecule priming agents that selectively upregulate tumor antigens to enhance efficacy, reduce toxicity, and expand patient eligibility for more durable, personalized cancer therapies by Eigen Therapeutics 

4. Immunology

• Preclinical evaluation of GPC3 targeting antibody-TCR T cells in HCC models with tumor rechallenging by Eureka Therapeutics 

• Combining a genetically engineered oncolytic virus that presents a non-human antigen on tumor cells with a TT3/CD3 bispecific antibody (BK-001), enables precise T-cell targeting and robust anti-tumor activity 

• Shared APC frameshift neoantigens enable targeted T cell responses via TCRs and bispecific antibodies, offering a novel strategy for broad cancer immunotherapy 

5. Molecular/Cellular Biology and Genetics

• Discovery of a novel antibody, 14G6, as a tool for understanding BAK conformational dynamics and their relationship to venetoclax response in leukemia by The Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research 

• AstraZeneca’s osimertinib treatment drives expression of TROP2, and combination treatment with datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd), a TROP2-directed antibody-drug conjugate, enhances its efficacy in PDX models of EGFR mutant non small-cell lung cancer 

6. Tumor Biology

• Extracellular enolase-1 drives cancer-associated fibroblast differentiation in the tumor microenvironment to enhance tumor growth of multiple myeloma by Hunilife 

• ADC target profiling reveals B7-H3, B7-H4, and Nectin-4 as promising candidates for immunotherapy combinations in HER2-low breast cancer and squamous NSCLC by Tristar Technology Group 

• High throughput quantitative molecular characterization of cytotoxic antibody-drug conjugates in spheroid models for improved functional characterization, screening and candidate selection

Thank you to everyone who visited our booth at AACR 2025 to learn about our services! We had a fantastic time chatting with you and how it can help you achieve antibody development. Our expert team would be happy to answer any follow-up questions. Feel free to email us at info@biointron.com or visit our website at www.biointron.com.