Based on the observation that amino acid transporters (e.g., LAT-1) are overexpressed in various cancer cells for their survival, we speculated that amino acid conjugated prodrug of gemcitabine might be an effective way to improve gemcitabine uptake by overexpressing amino acid transporters in pancreatic cancer cells as well as overall physicochemical property. Here, SLC38A7 is linked to familial pancreatic carcinoma.