ADC Therapeutics Secures $276 Million in Series E Financing to Advance Proprietary Antibody-Drug Conjugates for Cancer Therapy

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that on June 12, local time in Switzerland, biopharmaceutical company ADC Therapeutics completed a $276 million Series E financing round. The proceeds from this round will be used to support the company’s research and development of proprietary antibody-drug conjugates (hereinafter referred to as ADCs) for the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

ADC Therapeutics, founded in 2011 and headquartered in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, is an oncology drug development company dedicated to researching and developing proprietary antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.

ADC Therapeutics’ antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are highly targeted biologics that combine monoclonal antibodies specific to surface antigens present on particular tumor cells with novel, potent pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) payloads via chemical linkers, forming antibody-drug conjugates for targeted therapy of diseased tissues.

Antibody-drug conjugates are a novel class of cancer therapies designed to specifically target tumors while sparing healthy organs or tissues from the effects of chemotherapy. An ADC consists of three key components: a tumor-specific antibody, a stable linker, and a potent chemotherapeutic agent (also referred to as a payload or toxin). Proteins that are predominantly expressed on the surface of cancer cells and bind to the ADC are known as cancer targets.

PBD dimers have a different mechanism of action compared to other toxins (such as maytansinoid alkaloids and auristatins) and are typically conjugated with ADC drugs to jointly target diseased tissues. After the antibody binds to specific antigens on the surface of tumor cells, the ADC is internalized into the diseased cells, where the PBD dimer is released intracellularly and specifically binds to DNA, forming potent cytotoxic DNA interstrand crosslinks. The crosslinks formed by PBD dimers can block cell division and kill cancer cells.

Notably, PBD does not cause complete DNA inactivation during disease treatment; cells can still normally express beneficial proteins, thereby defending against viral attacks. This addresses a major challenge in current cancer therapy, as patients no longer require medications to maintain the balance of various physiological functions after treatment and can instead mount self-defense against multiple diseases.

ADC Therapeutics is also one of the first companies in the industry to combine pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) with antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapies for the treatment of cancer.

ADC Therapeutics has multiple PBD-based ADC drugs in ongoing clinical trials, including ADCT-402, ADCT-301, ADCT-602, and ADCT-601, with clinical research laboratories across the United States and Europe. Currently, the company is developing a preclinical ADC pipeline aimed at bringing ADC therapies into clinical practice as soon as possible.

Dr. Chris Martin, CEO of ADC Therapeutics, stated, “We are deeply grateful for the support from both new and existing investors. We will utilize the invested funds to submit a potential Biologics License Application (BLA) for our product, ADCT-402. Oncology has always been a key focus in the healthcare industry, and we hope our product can provide novel solutions for clinical practice, helping more patients recover their health sooner.”

(Compiled by Liu Yujing)