Linkers unleashed: optimizing stability, release, and selectivity in conjugate design

Bioconjugate Insights 2026; 1(6), 215–226

DOI: 10.18609/bci.2026.025

Published: 1 September
Innovator Insight
Michael Lukesch, Brian A Mendelsohn, Gantumur Battogtokh

“…we need as good an understanding of the biology as possible to design the conjugates accordingly.”


The linker is no longer a passive tether between antibody and payload. As the bioconjugate field has expanded, linker chemistry has become one of the central levers for controlling where and when a payload is released, and therefore for defining a conjugate’s therapeutic window. Bioconjugate Insights brought together three experts, spanning biotechnology, independent ADC consultancy, and academic pharmaceutical science, to examine how linker strategies differ across modalities, and what the latest thinking reveals about optimizing stability, controlled release, and target selectivity.