Celltrion Accelerates ADC Development... Strengthens Collaboration with Wuxi, China

Celltrion announced on the 24th that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to strengthen its partnership with Wuxi XDC, a company specializing in antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), to accelerate product development for contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services.

Jojongmun, Head of Celltrion Biotechnology Research Division (left), and Jimmy Lee, CEO of Wuxi XDC, are posing for a commemorative photo at the Celltrion-Wuxi XDC business agreement ceremony held on the 23rd.
[Photo by Celltrion]

The MOU ceremony took place on the 23rd at Wuxi XDC headquarters in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, China, with key representatives from both companies in attendance. The two companies plan to expand their ADC pipeline development areas and strengthen their strategic partnership to increase mutual benefits.

ADC technology involves linking antibodies that bind to cancer cells with cytotoxic drugs (payloads) via linkers. Often referred to as a "cruise missile" that precisely targets only cancer cells, the technology competition has intensified following the significant extension of progression-free survival (PFS) in patients by Enhertu, a breast cancer treatment jointly developed by AZ and Daiichi Sankyo.

Celltrion has also declared its commitment to actively develop ADCs, aiming to advance six ADC drug candidates into clinical trials involving humans by 2026. In December last year, Celltrion signed a CDMO contract with Wuxi XDC for the development of linker-payload synthesis processes for its internally developed ADC drug pipeline. This contract covers a new drug development project prioritizing two ADC pipeline products. Wuxi XDC is responsible for developing the linker-payload synthesis process and producing ADC materials compliant with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) standards for clinical phase 1 trials.

Following the previous CDMO contract, Celltrion expects that this MOU will enable the rapid and stable progress of ADC drug development, a new growth engine business. Additionally, discussions on expanding CDMO services for ADC products will continue.

Wuxi XDC is a joint venture established by global CDMO companies Wuxi Biologics and Wuxi STA. It provides contract research, development, and manufacturing organization (CRDMO) services focused on ADCs and bioconjugates. In September last year, it completed a cGMP production facility, establishing infrastructure capable of one-stop cGMP production of ADC therapeutics from development to drug substance (DS) and drug product (DP) manufacturing.

Seo Jin-seok, CEO of Celltrion, is presenting at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPMHC) held on the 10th (local time) in San Francisco, California, USA. During his presentation, CEO Seo announced plans to advance six antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) new drug candidates into human clinical trials by 2026.
[Photo by Celltrion]

Celltrion plans to accelerate the development of multiple ADC drug pipelines through collaboration with Wuxi, which is distinguished in the ADC CDMO field. In addition, it continues cooperation with UK-based ADC developer Exscientia Therapeutics and domestic biotech company Pinobio for the development of solid tumor-targeting ADC anticancer therapies.

A Celltrion Group official stated, “Celltrion is smoothly progressing with the development of multiple ADC pipelines through both in-house development and collaborations. We will continuously seek diverse partnerships to secure ADC new drugs.” He added, “We will continue to do our best to develop innovative new drugs using various modalities, including ADCs, and to secure differentiated competitiveness.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.