Astrazeneca plc’s blockbuster Enhertu continued to garner attention as new data released at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting show the antibody-drug conjugate demonstrated strong progression-free survival in metastatic breast cancer patients. Puma Biotechnology Inc. had advances of its own at ASCO with new biomarker findings from a phase II study of alisertib, an aurora protein kinase 2 inhibitor, in endocrine-resistant metastatic breast cancer.
South Korea’s Genome & Co. Ltd. (KOSDAQ:314130) shares rose nearly 30% June 3 after it disclosed a potential ₩586.38 billion (US$426 million) licensing deal for its novel antibody-drug conjugate candidate with Switzerland’s Debiopharm International SA.
While there was much talk about the vast potential of artificial intelligence (AI) during one of the world’s largest research cancer conferences, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) continued to grab the lion’s share of attention as Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. released new and positive data.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) begins its 2024 annual meeting at the cavernous and labyrinthine McCormick Place convention center in Chicago Friday, May 31. It’s one of the world’s largest cancer research conferences and can be daunting to follow. More than 400 organizations will participate this year, with about 200 sessions ready to convene. The vast majority of the 5,000 abstracts that cover all aspects of cancer treatment have already been released, and they will be scrutinized by the more than 40,000 attendees from around the world.
China’s Medilink Therapeutics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. and Germany’s Biontech SE signed another potential $1 billion-plus deal for novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targets, building off the first ADC-based licensing deal from last year.
The U.S. FDA granted accelerated approval to Amgen Inc.’s Imdelltra (tarlatamab) for treating adults with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. The approval may well lead the drug to blockbuster status while bolstering the company’s cancer portfolio.
Investors might not have been overly excited, but Genmab A/S executives enthused about the “complementarity” of its proposed acquisition of antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) specialist Profoundbio Inc. for $1.8 billion in cash. The deal, expected to close in the first half of 2024, marks the biggest by far for the Copenhagen, Denmark-based biopharma and the latest transaction for the red hot ADC space.
South Korean confectionary giant Orion Holdings Inc. has completed the acquisition of antibody-drug conjugate developer Ligachem Biosciences Inc., which recently changed its name from Legochem Bioscience Inc.
Jumping in for the first time to the hot antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) space, Paris-based Ipsen SA pulled in exclusive global rights to a preclinical ROR1-targeting candidate from Sutro Biopharma Inc. in a deal worth up to $900 million. STRO-003, the first ADC to join Ipsen’s portfolio, contains an anti-ROR1 human IgG1 antibody (SP-11385) conjugated to an exatecan warhead, or payload.
Nectin Therapeutics Ltd. has divulged antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) comprising a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting poliovirus receptors (PVR; CD155) linked to a cytotoxic drug through a linker. They are reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
