Immunoglobulin M (IgM) type antibodies play a significant role in complement activation, cellular debris clearance and cell quality control, and have the potential to be used as a therapeutic or targeting/delivery antibody. However, this potential has not been explored thoroughly due to its high molecular weight, polymeric structure and large number of glycosylation sites. Site-specific antibody-drug-conjugates (ADC) are considered the next generation protein biotherapeutic drugs and currently all, in clinical trials and approved, are of the IgG isotype. As existing methods for the development and characterization of IgG-ADCs are not compatible with IgM-ADC, we describe a platform methodology suitable for site specific IgM-ADC using a chemoenzymatic method targeting the glycans on the IgM. Azide functionalized sialic acids were incorporated onto IgM glycans using sialyltransferase for biocompatible conjugation using "click" chemistry. The number of azide groups incorporated onto the IgM glycans were characterized by mass spectrometry of the enzymatically released glycans and glycopeptides. Quantitation of the azide incorporation showed an azide antibody ratio of 8 (glycan data) and 6–10 (glycopeptide data) which translates to a high drug antibody ratio based on IgG-ADC standards. This platform methodology can be readily adapted for any human IgM produced in a mammalian cell expression system. • Single enzyme reaction for IgM drug conjugate with high drug:antibody ratio. • Quantitation of sugar azide incorporation onto glycans by mass spectrometry. • Site-specific glycopeptide analysis by mass spectrometry of sugar azide addition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]