Adcendo and Duality Biologics in License Agreement to Expand ADC Pipeline

Adcendo, a biotech company focused on the development of breakthrough antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for the treatment of cancers with high unmet medical need, announced the expansion of its current collaboration with Duality Biologics on May 30, 2023.

Adcendo announced an agreement to license Duality’s industry-leading Duality Immune Toxin Antibody Conjugates (DITAC) linker-payload platform for its lead uPARAP-ADC program in mesenchymal cancers in January 2023. Additionally, under the new MTA and Option License Agreement, Adcendo can nominate ADCs against two novel ADC targets, according to the press release.

“We are delighted to deepen our strategic collaboration with Duality, allowing us to progress with our aim to develop highly differentiated novel ADCs for the therapy of hard-to-treat cancers,” said Michael Pehl, chief executive officer of Adcendo, in a press release. “Duality’s unique and clinically validated DITAC platform is becoming a cornerstone as we further build on our novel pipeline and continue on our way to becoming a leader in the field of ADC cancer therapy.”

The new agreement also broadens and expands the existing collaboration between Adcendo and Duality, which states that new targets will be evaluated under MTA with Duality’s linker-payload platform, generates ADCs with superior safety profiles, and efficient bystander killing of antigen low and negative cells, according to the press release.

“Duality is dedicated to becoming a leading next-generation ADC company. We are very glad to expand our collaboration with Adcendo on breakthrough ADC medicines and apply our platform,” said John Zhu, chief executive officer of Duality Biologics, in a press release. “We believe the collaboration reflects the mutual recognition of each party’s unique strengths in ADC discovery and development and look forward to supporting the development of innovative ADC drugs.”

Source: Adcendo