CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. announced that the National Medical Products Administration of the People’s Republic of China has granted approval to conduct clinical trials of the company’s antibody-drug conjugate candidate, SYS-6002.

Mablink Bioscience SAS., Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique have patented antibody-drug conjugates consisting of antibodies covalently linked to therapeutic drugs through an enzyme-triggered self-immolative linker reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.

Celltrion Healthcare Inc. has signed a deal with Pinotbio Inc. to develop antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for up to 15 separate cancer targets incorporating the linker-payload platform technology Pinot-ADC. Celltrion could pay Pinotbio as much as ₩1.77 trillion (US$1.24 billion) to exercise options for all 15 targets in the collaboration. But, for starters, it will pay Pinotbio ₩1 billion up front.

Celltrion Healthcare Inc. has signed a deal with Pinotbio Inc. to develop antibody-drug conjugates for up to 15 separate cancer targets incorporating the linker-payload platform technology Pinot-ADC. Celltrion could pay Pinotbio as much as ₩1.77 trillion (US$1.24 billion) to exercise options for all 15 targets in the collaboration. But, for starters, it will pay Pinotbio ₩1 billion up front.

Zymeworks Inc. has described new antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) consisting of a cysteine engineered full-length antibody (IgG type) targeting hepatocyte growth factor receptor (HGFR; MET) or folate receptor α (FOLR1; FR- α) covalently linked to a cytotoxic drug through a linker reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.

Mablink Bioscience SAS raised €31 million (US$30.3 million) in a series A funding round and set its sights on a phase I trial of its lead next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), MBK-103, which is in development for a range of solid tumor indications. Sofinnova Partners and Mérieux Equity Partners co-led the round.

Araris Biotech AG has raised $24 million in a second round of funding, as it completes preparations to take its lead antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) into the clinic. The company continues to accumulate preclinical data indicating its novel linker technology makes for an improved therapeutic index compared to approved ADCs, and the lead product is expected to begin clinical development next year.

The State University of New York has presented new antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) consisting of trastuzumab antibody targeting human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) covalently linked to Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) and/or TLR8 agonists through a linker reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer and infections.