Akoya Biosciences has unveiled a new multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) assay designed to advance antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) development for breast cancer patients. The company announced the assay's availability through its Advanced Biopharma Services (ABS) division ahead of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2025 Annual Meeting taking place April 25-30 in Chicago.
The emergence of HER2- and TROP2-targeting ADCs—exemplified in the DESTINY, ASCENT, and TROPiCS clinical trials—has transformed breast cancer treatment paradigms while introducing greater complexity in therapeutic decision-making. Akoya's newly developed assay addresses these challenges by enabling more precise patient selection within established breast cancer subtypes.
Advanced Biomarker Detection with Subcellular Precision
The ADC-focused panel includes key biomarkers HER2, TROP2, Ki-67, ER/PR, and a proprietary membrane-localization cocktail. This combination allows for simultaneous quantification of ADC target expression with precise subcellular localization—a critical factor in determining ADC efficacy.
"Multiplexing key targets in context with state-of-the-art membrane resolution is a catalyst for designing precise ADC combination strategies," said Pascal Bamford, Chief Clinical Officer at Akoya. "Our goal is to equip translational and clinical teams with assays that reflect the complexity of the tumor microenvironment while preserving clinical relevance."
The panel delivers several technical advantages for researchers and clinicians:
- Normalized protein expression measurements
- Membrane/cytoplasmic expression ratios
- Comparative analysis with standard-of-care IHC biomarkers
- Identification of HER2-low and TROP2-high patients in clinical trial cohorts
- Consistent, quantitative scoring of each ADC marker
Comprehensive Support Through Advanced Biopharma Services
The ADC panel is now available through Akoya's Advanced Biopharma Services, which provides comprehensive support from assay customization to tissue staining, high-resolution imaging, image analysis, and reporting. ABS is specifically designed to accelerate the path from translational discovery to investigational use only (IUO) and in vitro diagnostic (IVD) applications.
The service is anchored in several key capabilities:
- A CLIA-certified laboratory for clinical-grade assay development
- Integrated imaging and analysis workflows for multiplexed biomarker quantification
- A clinical trial site and global CRO network for end-to-end study support
Real-World Validation of Spatial Biology Platforms
Alongside the new ADC assay, Akoya will showcase customer-generated real-world data from its PhenoCode Discovery IO60 panel—the company's flagship ultrahigh-plex immuno-oncology solution originally launched at SITC 2024. At AACR 2025, one of Akoya's customers will present data demonstrating IO60's capabilities in deep immune phenotyping, tumor microenvironment profiling, and translating biomarker discovery across oncology pipelines.
"Seeing our partners generate impactful insights using IO60 is the strongest validation of our platform's potential," said Brian McKelligon, Chief Executive Officer of Akoya. "This is how spatial biology becomes translational—by helping researchers get closer to patient-relevant outcomes."
Clinical Significance for ADC Development
The introduction of this specialized assay comes at a pivotal time in ADC development. Recent breakthroughs with HER2- and TROP2-targeting ADCs have demonstrated remarkable efficacy in previously difficult-to-treat breast cancer populations. However, optimizing patient selection remains challenging, particularly in identifying patients with the appropriate target expression patterns and subcellular localization.
Akoya's new assay specifically addresses the need to distinguish membrane versus cytoplasmic marker expression—a distinction that directly impacts ADC efficacy, as these therapeutics rely on binding to cell surface proteins for internalization and drug delivery.
AACR 2025 Showcase
Both innovations—the ADC-focused breast cancer panel and customer-generated data using IO60—will be featured at Akoya's Booth #3045 during AACR 2025. The company will highlight the full potential of spatial biology in translational research through several scheduled events:
- Live Atlas Demo with Enable Medicine on translating spatial data into actionable insights (April 27)
- Spotlight Theatre Presentation on scaling spatial biology for oncology breakthroughs (April 28)
- CDx Strategy Discussion with clinical experts (April 28)
- Early access opportunities to Akoya's newest translational panels and biopharma service offerings
About Akoya Biosciences
As The Spatial Biology Company®, Akoya Biosciences' mission is to bring context to the world of biology and human health through spatial phenotyping. The company offers comprehensive single-cell imaging solutions that allow researchers to phenotype cells with spatial context and visualize how they organize and interact to influence disease progression and response to therapy.
Akoya provides a full continuum of spatial phenotyping solutions across discovery, translational, and clinical research applications, including PhenoCode Panels and PhenoCycler, PhenoImager Fusion, and PhenoImager HT Instruments.
