Chinese Biotechs Partner Up 18.2-Targeting ADCs Amid Intense Domestic Competition

Following rapid R&D growth in the area, China now has roughly 40 drug candidates targeting Claudin 18.2 across various modalities including monoclonal antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies, with a number of contenders now striking international licensing-out deals in a bid to get ahead of rivals.

More and more Chinese Biotechs are teaming up with larger-scale domestic pharma companies for wider market access.
Three deals for Claudin 18.2-targeting ADCs between China/US firms since May • Source: Alamy

Since May, Chinese biotechs have rushed to cut deals with US pharma companies for global rights to Claudin 18.2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) assets amid cut-throat domestic competition in the field.

The latest partnerships have come from CSPC Megalith Biopharmaceutical under Hong Kong-listed CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited and Kelun-Biotech, a...

Scrip Podcast

Keep up with the top pharma business news of the week. On the go.

Scrip brings you a weekly bulletin of top picks.

More from China

  • Iran Deal In Place, But API Prices Stay Elevated And Pharma Supply Chains Face A Slow Recovery

    A framework to end the Iran war is in place but fractured supply chains can’t recover overnight. Data from India suggests solvent prices have generally cooled from April peaks, but API costs stay elevated or even climbed in June for some products.

  • Embracing China’s Brave New Pharmaceutical World!

     
    • By 

    Already one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical markets, China has tremendous growth potential, but significant policy and market changes are rocking the basis of competition. Multinational biopharma corporations cannot succeed in this new environment unless they fundamentally reinvent their business models to adapt to sweeping change.

  • Spotlight On RDCs, AOCs As Leading Novel Bioconjugates[Updated]

    Pipelines in bioconjugates continue to develop, from ADCs to XDCs, with radionuclide drug conjugates (RDCs) and antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates (AOCs) leading the expansion.

  • Fosun ALK/ROS1 Inhibitor Shows 1L Promise In Advanced NSCLC

    Interim results from the Phase III REMARK study presented at WCLC showed the Chinese company’s second-generation ALK/ROS1 inhibitor met its primary endpoint as a first-line therapy in ALK-positive advanced NSCLC.

More from Focus On Asia