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Henlius Pursues Two-Pronged Approach In Quest For Novel ADCs

Partnering And Independent

 
• By Dexter Jie Yan

Moving decisively but not hurriedly, Henlius is taking a two-pronged approach to join the global ADC race. The first two molecules developed via its in-licensed novel linker-payload platform have entered the clinical stage, while its own proprietary programs are seeing steady R&D progress, the Chinese firm's head of early R&D tells Scrip in an interview.

quest for success
Henlius's quest for novel ADCs under way • Source: Shutterstock

Amid surging enthusiasm for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in China, Shanghai Henlius Biotech Co. Ltd., a biologics arm of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd., is taking an adventurous yet patient approach to the feverish local R&D in the field.

Key Takeaways

  • Henlius has taken its first decisive moves in the pursuit of ADC candidates possessing novel linker-payloads, with its EGFR-targeting HLX42 and PD-L1-targeting HLX43 cleared for trials in Chinese patients in October.

  • HLX42 and HLX43 do not fully rely on the internalization process involving an antibody’s endocytosis ability to release the tumor-killing payload in cancer cells

On one hand, some risk-averse Chinese ADC players have adopted a fast-follower approach to design linker-payload platforms, a key component of ADC development. Such programs are similar to global front-runners from the likes of Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd

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