Matuzumab and nimotuzumab are anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies that target different parts of the EGFR protein, and Zr-matuzumab was developed as a PET imaging probe for tracking treatment effectiveness in mouse models of colorectal cancer.
Quality control tests showed that Zr-matuzumab binds effectively to EGFR-positive cells, with specific binding affinities measured for matuzumab and its derivatives.
When tested in mice, Zr-matuzumab imaging confirmed it binds specifically to EGFR-positive tumors, while treatment with the nimotuzumab-PEG-DM1 antibody drug conjugate showed promising results, leading to tumor remission in some cases.