Koch Institute Symposium 2025

Event poster with an illustration large yellow antibody, surrounded by multicolor organic shapes that evoke cells and antibodies

The 23rd Annual Koch Institute Symposium on Antibody Drug Conjugates: Targeted Cancer Therapies at the Intersection of Chemistry, Biology, and Engineering will take place on Friday, June 27, 2025. Kicking off with 2022 Nobel Prize winner Carolyn Bertozzi, our speaker lineup features an array of industry and academic leaders who will discuss current advancements and challenges in deploying antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) as anti-cancer agents. We cordially invite scientists, oncologists, and any other member of the biomedical community to join us in a day of engaging talks, stimulating conversations with colleagues, and of course camaraderie in our collective fight against cancer. 

Agenda

9:00 a.m. - 9:05 a.m. Opening remarks

Matthew Vander Heiden 
Director, MIT Koch Institute 


9:05 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Keynote 

Introduction: Jessica Stark, MIT Koch Institute 

Portrait of Carolyn Bertozzi

Carolyn Bertozzi 
Stanford University 
Bioorthogonal chemistry, from basic science to clinical translation  


10:00 a.m. – 12:30 pmSession One

Chair: Angela Koehler
Koch Institute at MIT

Portrait of Peter Senter

Peter Senter
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Antibody Drug Conjugates for Cancer Therapy: From Early Stage Research to Clinically Approved Drugs


10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.Break


11:00 a.m. – 12:30 pmSession One: Continued

Portrait of Gerold Meinhardt

Gerold Meinhardt
Daiichi Sankyo
Trastuzumab Deruxtecan: The Redefinition of HER2-targeted Therapy

Portrait of Alison Betts

Alison Betts
Takeda Pharmaceuticals
More than the sum of their parts: Integrating data and knowledge of ADCs in a Quantitative Systems Pharmacology platform model to predict efficacy and toxicity 

Portrait of Tim Lowinger

Timothy Lowinger
Mersana Therapeutics
Development of a STING-agonist ADC Platform: A Targeted Approach to Immunostimulation


12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.Lunch Break


1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.Session Two: Short Presentations

Chair: Laura Kiessling
Koch Institute at MIT

Portrait of Laurie Boyer

Laurie Boyer
MIT Koch Institute
Traffic control: High resolution mapping of ADCs within the lysosomal compartment

Portrait of Dane Wittrup

Dane Wittrup
MIT Koch Institute
Noncovalent capture antibody drug conjugates

Portrait of Jeremiah Johnson

Jeremiah Johnson
MIT Koch Institute
The ABCs of Antibody-Bottlebrush Conjugates 

Portrait of Dasa Lipovsek

Daša Lipovšek
Aktis Oncology
Miniproteins for targeted radiotherapy 


2:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.Break


3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.Session Three

Chair: Matthew Vander Heiden
Koch Institute at MIT

Portrait of Greg Thurber

Greg Thurber
University of Michigan
Designing ADCs for Efficient Tumor Tissue Penetration and Clinical Efficacy 

Portrait of Puja Sapra

Puja Sapra
AstraZeneca
Lessons learned from decades of ADC development

Portrait of Michael Seganish

Michael Seganish
Merck
Navigating Undesired Payload Release

Thank you to our sponsors!

 

Platinum

Astellas Pharma Inc.

 

 

MilliporeSigma

 

Silver

Pfizer
CanCollaborate
Qiagen
Window Therapeutics

 

Bronze

Morrison Foerster
Novartis