Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMS) and Eisai Co. Ltd. inked a potential $3.1 billion agreement to co-develop and co-commercialize the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) MORAb-202 for advanced solid tumors. Eisai’s first ADC, MORAb-202 pairs the company’s anti-folate receptor alpha (FRα) antibody with the Tokyo-based firm’s anticancer agent eribulin using an enzyme cleavable linker. It is characterized as a potential best-in-class candidate and is under investigation for tumors that include endometrial, ovarian, lung and breast cancers in two studies: a phase I effort in Japan and a phase I/II experiment in the U.S. The companies plan to enter the registrational stage of development as early as 2022.