Adcendo joins a growing group of biotechs working to usher the next generation of antibody-drug conjugates to the market.
Danish biotech Adcendo on Monday announced that it has closed its oversubscribed Series B round of financing, counting $135 million in earnings to kick off the clinical development of its antibody-drug conjugates.
Adcendo is advancing novel antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with “transformative first-in-class” potential, according to its website. The startup’s most mature candidate ADCE-T02—which it licensed from Chinese biotech Multitude Therapeutics in August 2024—works by binding to tissue factor, a transmembrane protein that initiates blood coagulation, and carries a Topoisomerase I inhibitor-based linker/payload system. Adcendo is initiating early-stage trials of ADCE-T02 for several solid tumors, including colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.
Close behind ADCE-T02 is ADCE-D01, also set to enter the clinic in the coming months, in its case for trials of sarcoma and other mesenchymal cancers. According to Adcendo’s website, ADCE-D01 is the first potential pan-sarcoma ADC thanks to its targeting of the uPARAP collagen receptor.
The first patients to be treated with these two assets are expected to be enrolled in the last quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, respectively. Monday’s fundraising round will help Adcendo support their clinical development as well as accelerate the early studies for the company’s two other candidates, including ADCE-B05, for which the biotech expects to file an Investigational New Drug application in the second half of 2025.
Adcendo joins a growing group of biotechs developing next-generation ADCs, seeking to address payload and toxicity issues that plague the current class of this treatment modality. ADC Therapeutics, for instance, leverages its proprietary pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) dimer platform to produce more potent ADCs. Its FDA-approved Zynlonta targets CD19 and is indicated for the treatment of relapsed or refractory large B cell lymphoma in adult patients who have undergone at least two prior lines of therapy. Meanwhile, Zai Lab’s approach makes use of the tumor microenvironment to limit the off-target effects of ADCs, and Sutro Biopharma touts a linker it says creates a higher drug-to-antibody ratio for more potent in-tumor killing.
The advancements that have allowed improvements in ADC technology have also reignited the industry’s excitement in the drug class. The space sits at $12 billion in value this year but is expected to reach $44 billion by 2029. According to an Endpoints News analysis, 88 startups have closed nine-figure raises this year, 11 of which are in the ADC space.
Adcendo’s Series B was led by TCGX and backed by existing investors, including Novo Holdings and RA Capital Management. The biotech also earned new supporters during the round, including Orbimed Advisors, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners and Logos Capital.
