rovalpituzumab tesirine rovalpituzumab tesirine rovalpituzumab tesirine (rova-t) is an experimental antibody-drug conjugate targeting the protein dll3 on tumor cells. it was originally developed by stemcentrx and was purchased by abbvie. it was tested for use in small-cell lung cancer, but development was terminated after unsuccessful phase iii trial. rovalpituzumab tesirinemonoclonal antibodytypewhole antibodysourcehumanizedtargetdll3clinical dataatc codenoneidentifierscas number1613313-09-9chemspidernoneuniip256hb60ffkeggd10981chemical and physical dataformulac6416h9894n1698o2028s46 (non-glycosylated) development in 2018, an independent data monitoring committee found that in the tahoe phase iii trial, rova-t shortened survival of lung cancer patients compared to soc chemotherapy topotecan, prompting termination of trial enrollment. another phase iii trial (meru) demonstrated no survival benefit over placebo. a phase ii trial using the drug as a third-line treatment for relapsed or refractory lung cancer showed objective response rate at just 16%. chemical structure chemical structure of "tesirine" (drawn in black). it consists of a pyrrolobenzodiazepine type dimer (top), which is the actual anti-cancer agent, a val–ala structure that can be cleaved by an enzyme to detach the anti-cancer agent from the antibody, a polyethylene glycol spacer, and a maleimide linker which is attached to a cysteine in the antibody's (rovalpituzumab's) peptide backbone, drawn blue. each rovalpituzumab molecule has an average of two such attachments.