Folate receptor alpha (FRα, encoded by FOLR1) is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored membrane protein that binds folate and shuttles it into cells. FRα is overexpressed in most ovarian, fallopian-tube, and primary peritoneal cancers, in roughly 30-50% of non-small-cell lung adenocarcinomas, and in subsets of prostate, endometrial, breast, and renal cancers, while expression in normal tissue is largely restricted to placenta, choroid plexus, kidney proximal tubules, and lung type I/II pneumocytes. That tumor-to-normal expression ratio makes FRα a credible targeting handle for conjugate therapies.
The first FRα-targeted drug to win FDA approval was AbbVie's ELAHERE (mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx), an antibody-drug conjugate that received accelerated approval in November 2022 for FRα-positive platinum-resistant ovarian cancer based on the SORAYA trial. Full FDA approval followed in March 2024 after the confirmatory MIRASOL Phase 3 trial showed an overall-survival benefit.
The next wave brings FRα into the peptide-drug-conjugate field. MultiValent Biotherapies launched on June 16, 2026 with a $27M Series A and rights to MVB-101, a PSMA × FRα dual-target peptide-drug conjugate licensed from Coherent Biopharma, with a Phase 1b/2a planned in prostate cancer for Q3 2026. Dual-target conjugates aim to improve tumor selectivity beyond what single-target ADCs and PDCs can achieve.
Stories here cover FRα-targeted drug programs and the broader cancer-conjugate field. See [[prostate-cancer]], [[peptide-drug-conjugate]], and [[mvb-101]] for adjacent threads.
MultiValent Biotherapies announced June 16 a first closing of $27.425 million in Series A financing to advance MVB-101, a PSMA × folate-receptor-alpha (FRα) dual-target peptide-drug conjugate licensed from China-based Coherent Biopharma (originally CBP-1018). MVB-101 binds two validated prostate-cancer targets simultaneously; existing PDCs and radioligand therapies (Pluvicto, Lutathera) hit one target each. MultiValent holds exclusive global rights outside greater China. A Phase 1b/2a clinical trial in a subgroup of prostate cancer patients is planned to start in Q3 2026. The launch adds another oncology PDC to a field still dominated by Pluvicto (lutetium-177 PSMA-617), Lutathera, and Pfizer's AVA6000 FAP-Dox.
Mayo's randomized Phase 2 trial across 11 sites tested low-dose (825 μg) against high-dose (2.5 mg) TPIV200, a multi-epitope folate-receptor-alpha peptide vaccine adjuvanted with GM-CSF, with or without cyclophosphamide pretreatment in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer. The low dose matched the full dose on immunogenicity, cyclophosphamide pretreatment had no impact, and vaccination induced persistent polyepitope immunity. Kathryn Ruddy, Keith Knutson, and Saranya Chumsri presented the data June 1.
Mayo Clinic researchers led by Dr. Kathryn Ruddy will present a randomized Phase 2 trial of the folate receptor alpha (FRα) peptide vaccine TPIV200 in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer at ASCO 2026 (Abstract 536, June 1, 1:30-4:30 PM CDT). The trial dosed 80 patients with vaccine; 58 were evaluable for immunogenicity. The TPIV200 multi-epitope FRα peptide vaccine was found safe and immunogenic using a single low-dose injection without cyclophosphamide priming. FRα is overexpressed on the cell surface in breast, ovarian, and lung cancers, making it a shared-antigen vaccine target distinct from personalized neoantigen approaches. The data supports combining TPIV200 with an immune checkpoint inhibitor to extend recurrence-free or progression-free survival in TNBC — the breast cancer subtype with the highest mortality risk and fewest targeted-therapy options. The vaccine adds to the peptide cancer vaccine cohort (BioVaxys MVP-S, Dana-Farber NeoVax, Greenwich GP2) at ASCO 2026.