Prodrugs of anthracycline antibiotics suited for tumor-specific activation.

The two novel prodrugs 4 and 11 have been prepared from tetra-O-acetyl-D-galactopyranose and doxorubicin in three and six steps, respectively. Their low cytotoxicity, high stability in plasma and, in the case of 11, efficient hydrolysis in the presence of alpha-galactosidase, fulfill preliminary conditions for their use in combination with monoclonal antibody-enzyme conjugates.