Emerging standouts set to transform drug discovery and
development, revolutionize cancer treatment, and capture big pharma
interest highlighted in third annual report
LONDON, June 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Clarivate
Plc (NYSE:CLVT), a leading global provider of transformative
intelligence, has released its annual Companies to Watch report,
highlighting seven innovative companies revolutionizing drug
discovery and development. These companies are advancing
antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) to deliver highly targeted cancer
treatments with minimal side effects. Based on data, insights and
analysis of drug benefits, financing and R&D activity, the
report explores why these companies are significant innovators.
While this year's report focuses on ADCs, previous editions
highlighted RNA technology companies and AI/ML companies to watch.
Impressively, eleven of the fourteen companies previously featured
have completed significant transactions or raised substantial new
funds, including DTx Pharma, AQEMIA, and Quris-AI.
Major pharmaceutical companies are eager to partner with or
acquire ADC developers to enhance their oncology pipelines. ADCs
combine a cytotoxic payload, a monoclonal antibody (mAb), and a
chemical linker, offering greater target specificity and a wider
therapeutic index than traditional therapies, delivering toxic
agents directly to cancer cells while sparing healthy tissues.
Mike Ward, Global Head of Life Sciences
and Healthcare Thought Leadership, Clarivate,
said: "Our data and insights reveal a clear trend: Big
Pharma is swiftly integrating ADCs into their portfolios through
partnerships and acquisitions. ADCs are rapidly maturing in the
clinical space, expanding beyond oncology into diverse therapeutic
areas. In the past five years, the number of ADCs on the global
market has surged into double digits, showcasing their growing
impact and potential in modern medicine. This year's Companies to
Watch report highlights ADC companies that might still be under the
radar."
Historically, ADC development has been slow due to the
complexity of selecting the right components for stability,
specificity, and effective payload delivery. Challenges such as
potential degradation during storage, balancing bioavailability,
and specific manufacturing infrastructure have also impeded
progress. However, more than a dozen ADC therapies have received
global approval and contract development manufacturing
organizations (CDMOs) are assisting with manufacturing challenges.
The companies in this report are using innovative approaches to
overcome these challenges, paving the way for ADCs to become a
cornerstone in modern oncology treatment. This year's Companies to
Watch include:
- Adcendo ApS develops breakthrough ADCs targeting
the uPARAP receptor, highly expressed in various mesenchymal and
epithelial cancers. Adcendo aims to replace conventional
chemotherapy with targeted, personalized treatments that have fewer
side effects.
- Araris Biotech AG utilizes proprietary conjugation
technology and linker-payload platforms to advance next-generation
ADCs. Araris' one-step, site-specific drug attachment technology
stably accommodates various drug-load combinations without altering
the antibody's pharmacokinetic profile, aiming to create more
efficacious and less toxic ADC cancer treatments.
- GO Therapeutics leverages advances in glycoproteomics to
develop antibody-based therapies against clean glycoprotein cancer
targets. Its platform-based approach uses selectively targeted
O-glycoproteins that could deliver more treatments for patients
with many different types of cancer.
- Heidelberg Pharma AG employs its proprietary ATAC®
technology, using amanitin-based compounds as the ADC payload. As
the first to utilize amanitin for cancer therapy, Heidelberg
Pharma's approach targets RNA polymerase II to induce apoptosis,
offering treatment options with improved therapeutic indices and
fewer side effects.
- Pheon Therapeutics focuses on extending the benefits of
ADCs through novel oncology targets and proprietary linker-payload
technologies. Their development strategy focuses on a novel target
that is broadly overexpressed in multiple solid tumor types.
Pheon's lead program for solid tumors, PHN-010, is set to enter the
clinical stage in 2024, offering a potential treatment with better
efficacy and tolerability.
- Tallac Therapeutics, Inc. employs next-generation
ADC technology with novel oligonucleotide payloads to create
antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates (AOCs). Their TRAAC platform
uses a potent Toll-like receptor agonist for targeted immune
activation within the tumor microenvironment. Tallac's AOCs aim to
provide precision medicines with less toxicity and more durable
therapeutic profiles for patients with solid tumors.
- Tubulis has a mission to realize the true
therapeutic potential of ADCs. The company's proprietary Tub-tag®
and P5 conjugation platforms deliver diverse targeted anti-cancer
agents, with stable linkers, to tumor sites, minimizing offsite
toxicities. Tubulis' lead candidates, TUB-040 and TUB-030, target
specific antigens in ovarian, lung, and other solid tumors, aiming
to provide safer and more effective treatment options.
Successful innovation relies on overcoming inherent challenges
with ADCs. Addressing these challenges requires interdisciplinary
collaboration, innovative technologies and continuous investment in
research and development to advance the field of ADCs and realize
their full therapeutic potential in oncology and other disease
areas.
To learn more about the Companies to Watch report,
visit here.
For more Drugs to Watch updates and analyses throughout the
year, visit the Drugs to Watch web
page and follow Clarivate for Life Sciences &
Healthcare on
X and LinkedIn.
Methodology for the Companies to Watch Report
Clarivate analysts assessed the changing ADC landscape with a
variety of proprietary data sources, including:
BioWorld™, Cortellis Clinical Trials
Intelligence™, Cortellis Deals Intelligence™, Cortellis Drug
Discovery Intelligence™, OFF-X™, and other industry
sources such as company announcements, filings and
peer-reviewed publications. In selecting this year's ADC Companies
to Watch, companies were weighted according to factors, such as:
medical, business and scientific challenges these companies are
attempting to solve; patient unmet need and/or burden of disease
their solutions aim to address; demonstrated proof of concept and
achievement of key developmental milestones; positioning in
clinical trials; relationships with notable scientific and academic
institutions; financial positioning, including funding secured,
relationships with industry and institutional investors, financial
runway and prospects for future fundraising or partnerships; and
ownership and status of intellectual property (IP) estate. These
and other Clarivate data sources provide high-quality, curated data
for proprietary AI capabilities from Clarivate that form the
mainstay of our intelligence solutions and services, including
advanced search algorithms, bespoke consulting and predictive
analytics (e.g., Drug Timeline & Success Rates™).
Please note, Clarivate generated data featured in this report
reflects findings prior to April
2024. The Companies to Watch 2024 ADC report is based on
current expectations reflective of analysis by Clarivate of the
data available, but actual results derived from companies featured
in the Report and herein may differ.
About Clarivate
Clarivate™ is a leading global provider of transformative
intelligence. We offer enriched data, insights & analytics,
workflow solutions and expert services in the areas of Academia
& Government, Intellectual Property and Life Sciences &
Healthcare. For more information, please
visit www.clarivate.com
Media Contact:
Catherine Daniel
Director External Communications, Life Sciences & Healthcare,
Clarivate
newsroom@clarivate.com
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