It’s time for antibody-drug conjugates. Many major cancer drug makers have at least one or two such drugs in their pipeline. Others, like Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson And MSD have operated in the market by making acquisitions or partnerships to build an ADC portfolio.
Currently, one of the best-selling ADCs on the market is Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) by AstraZeneca And Daiichi Sankyowhich in 2023 recorded sales of 2.5 billion dollarsalmost double compared to the previous year.
The two companies formed a $7 billion alliance around Enhertu in 2019, and the drug has since won several approvals, changing the way certain types of breast cancer are treated.
Since the approval of the first ADC, Mylotarg (Wyeth and then Pfizer) in 2000, researchers improved the drugs’ capabilities by trying different components and changing how they are linked together. As a result, the new ADCs can be used for more tumor types and in conjunction with other therapies, such as drugs that stimulate the immune system to fight cancer.
“What became clear from this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting is that the combination of ADCs and immunotherapy will change the first line of treatment, combining immune system enhancement and directed therapy,” he concludes Carlos Doti, VP and head of Medical Affairs at AstraZeneca USA.
