SunRock and Escugen unite on first-in-class ADC for tough tumors

SunRock Biopharma has teamed up with China’s Escugen to co-develop SRB123, a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting CCR9, an antigen which is tied to particularly hard-to-treat cancers, including pancreatic, ovarian and lung.

CCR9 is linked to metastasis and drug resistance, particularly in tumors with a poor prognosis. The companies plan to combine SunRock’s SRB1 antibody with Escugen’s EZWi-Fit linker-payload technology to create a highly selective treatment that delivers a toxic payload directly into cancer cells expressing CCR9.

Under the deal, both companies will share development responsibilities, co-own resulting intellectual property, and hold mutual licensing options. Their immediate goal is to generate preclinical proof-of-concept data to support early clinical trials.