Drug developers take fresh aim at 'guided-missile' cancer drugs

FILE PHOTO: A scientist studies cancer cells inside white blood cells through a microscope at the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) research centre in Stevenage, Britain November 26, 2019. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

FRANKFURT/ZURICH (Reuters) - Dozens of drugmakers are conducting human trials for a record 89 therapies that pair antibodies with toxic agents to fight cancer, evidence of renewed confidence in an approach that has long fallen short of its promise, an analysis compiled for Reuters shows.

These antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, from companies including AztraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, are described by researchers as "guided missiles" packing a powerful anti-cancer punch.