Duality Biotherapeutics pulled back the curtain on its wide-reaching antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) pipeline this week, revealing new information on its 12-production portfolio as part of a filing declaring the biotech’s intent to go public on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The document also provided more details on the candidates partnered with Germany-based drugmaker BioNTech, which first linked up with DualityBio in 2023 in an effort to diversify beyond its flagship mRNA vaccine business. For more on their collaboration, see BioNTech jumps on the ADC bandwagon. Between the BioNTech tie-up and other partnerships with BeiGene and Adcendo, DualityBio said its current deals represent more than $4 billion in total value. The Shanghai-based firm said it anticipates its late-stage ADCs to reach commercialisation in the next few years.Bispecifics and autoimmune diseases Altogether, DualityBio said it has developed 12 ADCs, of which half are already in the clinic — though several more are close to reaching that milestone, including DB-2304, the firm’s only autoimmune disease programme.The ADC targets blood dendritic cell antigen 2 (BDCA2), a receptor expressed on a specific cell type — plasmacytoid dendritic cells — that has been linked to the pathogenesis of lupus erythematosus (LE). DualityBio plans to file investigational new drug (IND) applications for both systemic and cutaneous LE this half. Other notable preclinical programmes include two bispecific ADCs, a newer iteration of the popular modality that enables the targeting of two different epitopes on either the same or different antigens, with the goal of reducing off-target toxicities, overcoming drug resistance and boosting ADC internalisation. For more on the latest advances in the space, see Spotlight On: Bispecific ADCs are gaining traction.The most advanced bispecific ADC is DB-1419, which targets both B7-H3 and PD-L1. According to DualityBio, the candidate is designed to simultaneously deliver a toxic DNA topoisomerase I inhibitor payload while also modulating T-cell activation. The first patient in a Phase I/IIa global trial is expected to be dosed this half. BioNTech collaborationThe filing also delved into a trio of programmes partnered with BioNTech. At the head of the pack is BNT323 (formerly DB-1303), a HER2-targeting ADC in three potentially registrational trials. DualityBio said it expects next year to file with the FDA seeking accelerated approval for the lead indication of HER2-expressing endometrial cancer.The candidate uses a stable, cleavable linker and topoisomerase-based payload to lower off-target toxicities and improve antitumour activity. Outside of endometrial cancer — for which BNT323 is the most advanced HER2-targeting ADC — the candidate has also shown activity against several solid tumours including breast, ovarian, colorectal and esophageal cancers. The second programme is BNT324 (DB-1311), which targets B7-H3, a protein that plays a key role in tumour progression and metastasis and is overexpressed in several tumour types such as non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Currently in a Phase I/IIa trial for solid tumours including SCLC and CRPC, DualityBio plans to test the candidate as monotherapy and in immunotherapy combinations. BNT324 has fast track designation from the FDA for CRPC, as well as orphan drug designation for ESCC. Rounding out its BioNTech collaboration is BNT325 (DB-1305), a TROP2-targeting programme for “under-explored” indications such as ovarian cancer. The company said the compound also has combination potential for NSCLC, cervical cancer and triple-negative breast cancer, which may position it as “a potential backbone therapy in the TROP2 ADC landscape.” BNT325 is in a Phase I/IIa study for advanced solid tumours, including NSCLC, where “encouraging preliminary efficacy signals” have been observed.Unpartnered assetDualityBio’s most advanced wholly owned programme is DB-1310, a HER3-targeting ADC candidate the firm believes has “untapped opportunities to cover a broad patient population with limited reliance on biomarker-based patient selection and overcome resistance to standard of care.” Currently in Phase I testing, DualityBio expects to explore the asset in KRAS-mutant NSCLC, as well as in combination with AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso (osimertinib) for patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC who are resistant to tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
