Avacta Group plc has expanded its pipeline of Precision-enabled drug conjugates with the addition of two novel preclinical oncology assets, AVA-6103 and AVA-7100. The company’s peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) comprise a payload linked to the Precision peptide, which is cleaved only within the tumor by the action of fibroblast activation protein (FAP).

Peptidream Inc. and Novartis Pharma AG have expanded their peptide-drug conjugate discovery collaboration announced in 2019, adding additional peptide radioligand therapies and other programs.

Peptidream Inc. announced a new multi-target collaboration and license agreement with Merck & Co. Inc., known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada, as well as research collaboration and license agreement with Eli Lilly & Co (Lilly). Both agreements are focused on the discovery and development of novel peptide drug conjugates (PDCs). Under the agreement with MSD, Peptidream will provide peptide candidates identified from its proprietary Peptide Discovery Platform System (PDPS) technology for use as PDCs against targets of interest to MSD.

The high and specific expression of Kita-Kyushu lung cancer antigen 1 (KK-LC-1) in multiple types of tumors makes it an ideal target for drug delivery.