ArriVent ups its ADC bet

ArriVent already has ADC deals with Aarvik and Alphamab, and on Tuesday it added to these, licensing Lepu Biopharma’s MRG007 outside Greater China. There aren’t many details about the project, which hits an undisclosed gastroinestinal target; an IND submission is planned for the first half of the year, with an initial focus on colorectal, pancreatic and “other GI cancers”. ArriVent’s deal echoes GSK’s recent swoop for DualityBio’s DB-1324, which is also an ADC against an undisclosed GI target. It’s possible that both assets hit Claudin18.2, a hot area for gastric research. A look at the recent business development activity in ADCs shows a slew of deals in January and December alone, although many are technology-based agreements with undisclosed fees. ArriVent didn’t say how much it had spent on MRG007, only disclosing $47m in up-front fees and near-term milestones. The group’s other ADC efforts are also preclinical projects with mystery targets: ARR-002, being developed with Aarvik, is expected to start IND-enabling studies by early 2025, while its unnamed Alphamab-partnered assets are earlier in development. ArriVent’s lead project, though, is the EGFR TKI firmonertinib, in phase 3 in NSCLC with EGFR exon 20 insertions and a new focus on PACC mutations.  Notable recent ADC dealsAcquirerDeveloperTarget(s)ScopeUp-front feeDateArriVentLepu BiopharmaUndisclosed (GI)Rights outside China$47m (up-front & near-term milestones)Jan 2025DaiichiGlycotopeTA-MUC1Rights to antibody for use in ADC DS-3939$133mJan 2025Biohaven + MerusUndisclosedCo-development of multispecific ADCsUndisclosedJan 2025Zai LabMediLinkLRRC15Global rightsUndisclosedJan 2025SotioBiocytogenUndisclosed (GI)Rights to antibody for use in ADC SOT109UndisclosedJan 2025Mitsubishi Tanabe PharmaSynaffixUndisclosedTechnology dealUndisclosedJan 2025BoehringerSynaffixUndisclosedTechnology dealUndisclosedJan 2025Chugai (Roche)ArarisUndisclosedTechnology dealUndisclosedJan 2025Biocytogen + AcepodiaUndisclosedTechnology deal (dual payload bispecific ADCs)UndisclosedJan 2025AvenzoDualityBioEGFR x HER3Rights outside China$50mJan 2025RocheInnoventDLL3Global rights$80mJan 2025IdeayaJiangsu HengruiDLL3Rights outside China$75mDec 2024AadiWuXi/Hangzhou DACPTK7, MUC16 & SEZ6Global rights$44mDec 2024AdcendoBiocytogenUndisclosedAntibodies for use in ADCsUndisclosedDec 2024ElevationSynaffixHER3Global access to ADC tech for use in one programmeUndisclosedDec 2024GSKDualityBioUndisclosed (GI)Rights outside China$30mDec 2024GileadTubulisUndisclosedOption agreement$20mDec 2024Source: OncologyPipeline.