After forming partnerships with several major pharmaceutical companies, Waltham, Mass.-based biotech ImmunoGen wants to boost its pipeline of antibody-drug conjugates.

ImmunoGen is known for providing the technology for Roche/Genentech's experimental T-DM1, enabling a cancer-killing toxin to be linked to the approved antibody drug Herceptin to treat certain patients with breast cancer. While that is the latest-stage candidate to use ImmunoGen's technology, the firm has its own compounds that could bolster its future prospects.

One of the compounds in an early-stage clinical trial, called IMGN529, is an antibody that targets non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and that includes a special toxin. The toxin is supposed to remain linked to the antibody in a patient's bloodstream, until the compound reaches the targeted cancer site. This approach targets specific tumors with the antibody while delivering a potent toxin against the cancer. ImmunoGen aims to file with the FDA by mid-2011 for approval to begin early human trials with the new compound.