Raising $94 million in a series A round, South San Francisco-based Firefly Bio Inc. has emerged from stealth to advance its Firelink linker platform technology to develop degrader-antibody conjugates (DACs) to treat cancer. A combination of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and targeted protein degradation therapies, DACs are a new class of medicines that have recently gained attention for their ability to replace toxic ADC payloads and to eliminate cancer-driven proteins.
Sutro Biopharma Inc. has described antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) comprising a cytotoxic drug linked to an antibody or polypeptide residue through a linker reported to be useful for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Trioar Inc. has synthesized antibody-drug conjugates comprising antibodies targeting HER2 (Neu, erbB2) covalently linked to cytotoxic drugs (particularly, MMAE and MMAF) through a linker reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Doma Biopharmaceutical (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. has disclosed antibody-drug conjugates comprising bispecific antibodies (E-6C4-M-2F11) targeting EGFR (HER1; erbB1) and hepatocyte growth factor receptors (HGFR; MET) covalently linked to cytotoxic drugs through a linker reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Shares of Corbus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:CRBP) doubled on opening Jan. 26 and ended the day up a whopping 249% as investors got a look at data from a first-in-human study testing next-generation Nectin-4-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) CRB-701. Licensed from CSPC Pharmaceutical Group for $7.5 million up front in February 2023, CRB-701 has IND clearance from the U.S. FDA, and Corbus plans to start its own clinical testing in the first quarter of 2024.
Biontech SE and Duality Biologics Co. Ltd. have progressed BNT-323/DB-1303 to pivotal phase III trials, beginning in China in patients with hormone receptor-positive and HER2-low metastatic breast cancer.
What had been viewed as a major catalyst for Gilead Sciences Inc. going into 2024 turned into a disappointment on the stock market, as antibody-drug conjugate Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan) failed to meet the overall survival primary endpoint in the phase III Evoke-01 study in previously treated metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The landscape of biopharma deals and M&As has seen a transformative shift, with a year-over-year drop in transaction numbers while value has increased. Overall, biopharma deals saw an uptick in value of nearly 6%, and biopharma M&As concurrently soared 80% higher in value than the previous year.