K-Bios showcases new ADC drugs on the international stage

'World ADC 2024' held from the 4th to 7th...companies introduced new ADC drug pipelines and platforms

Celltrion first presents results of its new anticancer drug trial…LigaChem Biosciences, ABL Bio show progress

The domestic pharma and biotech industry is speeding up the development of new antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), unveiling their clinical results.

 

At the 'World ADC 2024' that was held in San Diego, U.S.

 

for 4 days from the 4th of this month, domestic pharmaceutical bio companies including Celltrion, LigaChem Biosciences, and ABL Bio revealed ADC research results.

 

With the results, the companies are aiming to secure various solid cancer indications such as non-small cell lung cancer, bladder cancer, and breast cancer.

 

Celltrion seeks to develop a new ADC drug with the Pinotbio platform

According to industry sources on the 9th, Celltrion unveiled the preclinical results of its ADC candidate 'CT-P70' for non-small cell lung cancer and 'CT-P71' for bladder cancer and other solid cancer indications for the first time at the conference.  The new pipeline unveiled at World ADC utilizes PBX-7016, an ADC platform developed by the ADC company Pinotbio through open innovation.

 

The platform technology is characterized by its enhanced hydrophilicity to increase stability in the blood through the jointly developed payload 'camptothecin derivative,’ and has excellent anti-cancer effects on tumors.

 

ADCs are anticancer drugs made by connecting antibodies that bind to specific target antigens on the surface of tumor cells to cytotoxic payloads with a linker, enabling the drug to selectively act only on cancer cells.

 

This offers the advantage of enhancing therapeutic efficacy while minimizing side effects.  With ADC drugs such as Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca's ‘Enhertu,’ Gilead's 'Troldelvy', and Takeda's 'Adcetris' successfully settling in the market, the industry is eyeing the emergence of follow-up drugs.

 

Currently, technology transfer and clinical trials for the next ADC are actively underway in global and domestic pharmaceutical companies.

 

CT-P70 is an ADC drug targeting solid cancers such as non-small cell lung cancer.

 

It targets 'c-MET', which causes tumor growth when activated in cancer cells.  C-MET is a protein expressed by the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (MET) gene.

 

It is one of the proteins that transmit signals to cells and is considered a typical cancer-inducing gene and is associated with the development of various solid cancers, including colorectal, gastric, and liver cancers, as well as lung cancer.

 

It is estimated that 6% of patients with NSCLC have c-MET mutations.

 

In preclinical studies, CT-P70 has shown tumor inhibition effect in c-MET-expressing lung and gastric cancers in vitro and in vivo, with confirmed safety in toxicity studies.  There are currently no ADCs targeting c-MET available on the market, but AbbVie presented promising Phase II trial results last year.

 

Based on the Phase II trial results, AbbVie has applied for accelerated approval with the U.S.

 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  CT-P71, which Celltrion also presented the same day, is an ADC drug in development for the treatment of solid tumors, including bladder cancer, that targets nectin-4, a cell surface protein that is overexpressed in solid tumors.

 

It has shown efficacy in tumor inhibition in bladder, breast, and lung cancers in nonclinical studies and an excellent safety profile in toxicity studies.

 

Currently, the only ADC drug that targes nectin-4 is Astellas' Padcev.

 

The drug is currently approved for urothelial carcinoma and is being studied in several solid tumors.  Celltrion plans to develop CT-P70 and CT-P71 as best-in-class drug candidates.

 

ABL Bio-LigaChem Biosciences announces ADC clinical trial results ABL Bio and Ligachem Biosciences, which have a diverse pipeline of ADC drug candidates, also attended the event. 

LigaChem Biosciences unveiled the features and safety results of its ADC platform 'ConjuAll'.

 

ADCs consist of a linker, payload (drug), and antibody, and the ConjuAll linker is said to be able to overcome the release of cytotoxic drugs into the blood and attack normal cells.

 

Currently, LigaChem Biosciences has three drug candidates in clinical trials - LCB14, LCB84, and LCB71.  LCB14 is an ADC that targets HER2 and is currently in Phase II/III clinical trials in China and Phase I trials in Australia.

 

LigaChem Biosciences has licensed out LCB14 to China-based Fosun Pharma UK-based Iksuda Therapeutics.

 

The two companies are conducting clinical trials in China and Australia, respectively.  LCB84, a Trop2-targeting ADC, was licensed out to Janssen.

 

LCB84 is an ADC drug candidate with the potential to target a variety of solid tumors, including triple-negative breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.

 

In preclinical studies, LCB84 has shown efficacy in solid tumors refractory to topoisomerase payload-based TROP2 ADC drugs.  LCB71 is currently in Phase I clinical development.

 

LCB71 is an ADC candidate that targets hematologic malignancies.

 

Currently, LigaChem Biosciences’ partner in China, Cstone, has selected LCB71 as its core clinical program and plans to initiate a Phase Ib clinical within the year. 

ABL Bio presented non-clinical trial data from its bispecific ADC pipeline.

 

The two drug candidates it presented were found to be well-tolerated and safe in preclinical studies.

 

ABL Bio is developing ABL201, an ADC candidate targeting hematologic cancers, and ABL201 and ABL202 targeting solid tumors.

 

ABL has successfully licensed out ABL201 to a biotech venture TSD Life Sciences.

 

Also, ABL202 is being developed in collaboration with LigaChem Biosciences’ linker technology.

 

The company aims to enter clinical trials for three of its bispecific ADCs, including the one in preclinical trials.