Kadcyla is an antibody-drug conjugate engineered to deliver potent chemotherapy directly to HER2-positive cancer cells, potentially limiting damage to healthy tissues. It combines two anti-cancer properties joined together by a stable linker: the HER2-targeting properties of trastuzumab (the active ingredient in Herceptin) and the chemotherapy agent DM1.
Kadcyla is approved as a single agent in over 100 countries, including the US and EU, for the treatment of people with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer who have previously received Herceptin and taxane-based chemotherapy, either separately or in combination, as well as adjuvant (post-surgery) treatment of people with HER2-positive early breast cancer with residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant (pre-surgery) treatment that included Herceptin and taxane-based chemotherapy.