The Probody Platform
CytomX's Probody™ Platform targets the disease microenvironment in ways that have not been
possible to-date.
This novel, proprietary platform is enabling the development of fully recombinant, protease-activated monoclonal antibodies, called Probodies, with unparalleled targeting and efficacy. Probodies are designed to bind to antigens only in diseased tissue and not in healthy tissue. By doing so, Probodies expand the therapeutic index for targets that have validated disease biology, but also display normal tissue expression patterns that are too widespread to allow for adequate safety margins using conventional antibody approaches. Probodies therefore have the potential to open up new target space and expand the therapeutic index for existing therapies.
Probodies work by leveraging protease dysregulation within disease microenvironments – a hallmark of many disease pathologies – to achieve unprecedented levels of tissue-specific targeting. Probodies are activated in the disease microenvironment by proteases that are highly active in such tissue. Several decades of research has shown that dysregulated protease activity is a hallmark of many disease states, including cancer and inflammation. CytomX Probodies leverage this protease activity to locally activate Probodies and deliver a level of exquisite tissue targeting. A proprietary, antibody-masking technology ensures that the monoclonal antibody only binds to the target at the site of disease and not to healthy tissue.
CytomX has optimized its Probody Platform and established preclinical proof of concept for Probodies. This highly innovative platform is broadly enabling to all next-generation antibody formats, including biospecifics, multispecifics and antibody-drug conjugates.