Nanobody Discovery Service for ADC Development

Successful ADC-oriented binder discovery requires more than high-affinity binding alone. Candidate binders must recognize native cell-surface targets, exhibit favorable internalization properties, maintain tumor selectivity, and support downstream conjugation strategies.

To address these challenges, our discovery workflows integrate membrane protein-focused immunization strategies, cell-based screening, advanced display technologies and internalization assays to identify nanobody candidates optimized for targeted payload delivery applications.

Why Nanobodies for ADC Development?

Nanobodies possess several unique features that make them highly attractive for ADC and targeted delivery applications.

Small Molecular Size

Improves tumor penetration and enables access to sterically restricted epitopes.

Excellent Stability

Supports payload conjugation and improves manufacturability.

Flexible Engineering

Suitable for multi-specific ADCs, RDCs, and next-generation conjugate formats.

Native Cell-Surface Recognition

Particularly effective for recognizing conformationally sensitive membrane proteins.

Key Considerations for ADC-Oriented Binder Discovery

ADC development requires binders with properties beyond target binding.

Internalization Capability

Efficient receptor-mediated internalization is critical for intracellular payload delivery.

Tumor Selectivity

High specificity minimizes off-target toxicity.

Native Cell-Surface Recognition

Binders must recognize physiologically relevant target conformations.

Conjugation Compatibility

Candidates should maintain functionality after payload conjugation.

Advantages of Our ADC Nanobody Discovery

Our discovery workflows are specifically optimized for ADC and targeted delivery applications, with a strong focus on membrane protein recognition, internalization behavior, and developability characteristics.

Membrane Protein-Focused Immunization

We support multiple antigen presentation strategies for difficult membrane protein targets, including:

Cell-based immunization

VLPs

LNP-mRNA

Membrane mimetic systems

These approaches help preserve native target conformations during discovery.

Internalization-Oriented Screening

Selection of binders recognizing epitopes associated with efficient receptor internalization.

Cell-Based Screening

Screening against native target-expressing cells helps enrich binders recognizing physiologically relevant epitopes. This strategy is particularly important for conformationally sensitive membrane proteins.

Multi-Parameter Candidate Evaluation

Candidate binders are evaluated based on:

Binding affinity

Specificity

Internalization behavior

Cross-species reactivity

Developability properties

This integrated strategy supports downstream ADC engineering and therapeutic development.

Discovery Workflow Options

Option 1 — Immunization-Based Discovery

Camelid immunization → PBMC isolation → Library construction → ADC-oriented screening → Candidate validation

Recommended for:

Therapeutic ADC programs

Challenging membrane targets

High-affinity binder generation

Option 2 — Premade Library Screening

Premade library selection → Membrane protein screening/Cell-based screening → Candidate validation

Recommended for:

Rapid target validation

Early-stage exploratory studies

Fast identification of delivery ligands

Deliverables

Clients will receive:

ADC-oriented nanobody sequences

Expression-ready constructs (optional)

Functional validation data (optional)

Comprehensive project report

Optional downstream services

Nanobody humanization

Affinity maturation

Typical Project Timeline

Option 1 — Immunization-Based Discovery

Stage	Deliverables	Timeline
Immunization	Serum titer report	8 weeks
Library construction	Immune phage or yeast display library	3–4 weeks
Library screening	Enriched binder sequences	4-6 weeks
Optional candidate production	Purified VHH and expression-ready constructs	2–3 weeks
Optional validation	Binding and functional assay data	2–4 weeks

Typical total timeline:

Approximately 15-18 weeks depending on project complexity and screening strategy.

Option 2 — Premade Library Screening

Stage	Deliverables	Timeline
Library screening	Enriched binder sequences	4-6 weeks
Optional candidate production	Purified VHH and expression-ready constructs	2–3 weeks
Optional validation	Internalization and functional assay data	2–4 weeks

Typical total timeline:

Approximately 4–11 weeks depending on project requirements.