In this communication we describe a novel acid-cleavable linker strategy for antibody–drug conjugation. Functional disulfide bridging of the single interchain disulfide bond of a trastuzumab Fab fragment yields a homogeneous antibody–drug conjugate bearing a thiomaleamic acid linker. This linker is stable at physiological pH and temperature, but quantitatively cleaves at lysosomal pH to release the drug payload.