ADC Therapeutics shutters UK R&D site
ADC Therapeutics shutters UK R&D site, culls several preclinical programs and trims workforce by 30%
After dropping its only clinical-stage candidate last month, ADC Therapeutics is shutting down a U.K. research site and laying off 30% of its workforce.
The Swiss biopharma is also discontinuing early development for some preclinical programs in solid tumors, including exatecan-based antibody-drug conjugates targeting Claudin-6 and ASCT2, according to a June 11 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company said the R&D site closure and layoffs are expected to be complete by Sept. 30.
The restructuring is designed to channel resources toward the company’s approved cancer monoclonal antibody, Zynlonta, and a preclinical antibody-drug conjugate chasing prostate-specific membrane antigen, according to the SEC filing.
The biopharma also expects to pay out about $6 million to $7 million tied to the restructuring.
It’s recently been a tough run for ADC Therapeutics. In May, the company announced that it would end work on its candidate ADCT-602 (Epratuzumab Tesirine), which was being assessed as a treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The biopharma pulled the plug on the phase 1/2 trial based on clinical data. Epratuzumab Tesirine (ADCT-602) is a novel CD22-targeted ADC and contains a PBD dimer and a payload Tesirine (SG3249).
ADC Therapeutics drops only clinical-stage drug after reviewing phase 1 leukemia data
In November of last year, the biopharma dropped ADCT-601, an AXL-based candidate for sarcoma, pancreatic cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. ADC Therapeutics made a similar call in January 2024 for ADCT-901, a KAAG1-targeted therapy the company discontinued due to “limited signs of efficacy and to reallocate capital to prioritized programs.”
