Interest in antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) is picking up after a flurry of approvals, several mega-deals — including the $43 billion acquisition of Seagen by Pfizer — and some promising new clinical data. In May, ADC specialist ImmunoGen revealed positive data from a phase 3 trial of Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine) compared with chemotherapy in patients with folate receptor-positive ovarian cancer. In the 453-patient trial, which included women whose cancers were already resistant to chemotherapy, median survival was 16.5 months with Elahere, compared with 12.8 months in the chemotherapy arm, representing a 33% reduction in the risk of tumor progression or death. The company says it is the first drug to show an overall survival benefit in this patient population.
Other industry players are jumping in to invest in ADC therapies, which use a monoclonal antibody, a cleavable linker and a toxic payload to kill the targeted tumor cells. Three recent deals with China-based biotechs typify the trend. In April, BioNTech entered the ADC arena via a licensing pact with Shanghai-based DualityBio, gaining rights to two experimental topoisomerase-1 inhibitor-based ADCs, including a phase 2 candidate directed against the HER2 receptor. Tokyo-based Eisai and Bliss Biopharmaceutical, based in Zhejiang Province, are also targeting HER2 and in May inked a new agreement to jointly commercialize BlissBio’s ADC BB-1701, using Eisai’s cancer drug eribulin as a toxic payload. Also in May, Shanghai’s LaNova Medicines granted AstraZeneca a license to a preclinical ADC targeting a G protein-coupled receptor (class C, group 5, member D), a potential treatment for multiple myeloma.
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