Peptide News Digest

#Adc

3 stories

Industry · View digest

Pathos AI Announces Wednesday August 5 a $2.09 Billion Licensing Deal With Jiangsu Alphamab Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. for a TROP2/HER3 Bispecific Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC), Extending the ADC Modality Deal-Making Cycle That Has Produced Substantial Cross-Border Capital Deployment Across 2025-2026 Including Merck's Chugai Deal, AbbVie's ImmunoGen Acquisition, Pfizer's Seagen Acquisition Legacy, and the Emerging Peptide-Drug Conjugate (PDC) Franchise Alongside Novartis-Myricx's $1.5 Billion Peptide-Drug-Conjugate Alliance Announced July 6

Pathos AI announced Wednesday August 5, 2026 a $2.09 billion licensing deal with Jiangsu Alphamab Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. for a TROP2/HER3 bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). The deal extends the ADC modality deal-making cycle that has produced substantial cross-border capital deployment across 2025-2026, notably including Merck's Chugai ADC franchise deal, AbbVie's 2023 ImmunoGen acquisition, the ongoing Pfizer-Seagen (Seattle Genetics) commercial integration, and the emerging peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) franchise developments. The Pathos AI-Alphamab deal complements the July 6 Novartis-Myricx $1.5 billion peptide-drug-conjugate alliance (upfront + biobucks) covered on the site's July digest. TROP2 (trophoblast cell surface antigen 2) is a well-validated oncology target with existing approved ADCs including AstraZeneca-Daiichi Sankyo's Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan) for triple-negative breast cancer; HER3 is a differentiated payload delivery target with limited approved-drug precedent. The bispecific ADC combines the two payload-targeting mechanisms in a single molecule with the goal of expanding tumor-cell-targeting selectivity and reducing off-target toxicity relative to single-target ADCs. Pathos AI is a US oncology-focused biotech backed by AI-driven target identification and drug-discovery platforms.

Industry · View digest

Novartis Agrees Monday July 6 to Acquire UK Biotech Myricx Bio for Up to $1.5 Billion ($1.1 Billion Cash Upfront Plus Milestones) to Advance a Next-Generation N-Myristoyltransferase Inhibitor (NMTi) Antibody-Drug Conjugate Payload Platform With Two Lead Assets Targeting B7-H3 and HER2 Across Multiple Solid-Tumor Settings; Transaction Expected to Close in H2 2026 Subject to Customary Closing Conditions Including Regulatory Approvals

Novartis announced Monday July 6, 2026 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire UK biotech Myricx Bio for up to $1.5 billion ($1.1 billion cash upfront plus potential milestone payments) to advance next-generation ADC payload innovation. Myricx Bio developed a first-in-class N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor (NMTi) payload platform. NMT is an enzyme that maintains the function of certain proteins inside cells, and cancer cells rely on it to grow and survive; blocking NMT with a payload delivered via ADC disrupts those processes directly inside tumor cells. Myricx's two lead assets target B7-H3 and HER2 across multiple solid-tumor settings. The transaction is expected to close in H2 2026 subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals. The deal extends the payload-and-linker chemistry infrastructure that peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs), ADCs, and adjacent bioconjugate modalities share. Novo Holdings (through its portfolio company backing of Myricx) and Sofinnova Partners were among the pre-deal investors. Endpoints News framed the transaction as another 2026 signal that payload innovation, not antibody targeting alone, is driving competitive differentiation in the next-generation ADC race.

Clinical Trials · View digest

Peptide-Drug Conjugates Advance as Next-Generation Cancer Therapeutics With Six in Phase III

A comprehensive review in Journal of Nanobiotechnology positions peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) as the next evolution beyond antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for targeted cancer therapy. Six PDCs are now in Phase III clinical trials with approximately 96 in development, offering advantages in tissue penetration, lower immunotoxicity, and more accessible manufacturing than ADCs.