DualityBio and Genentech to Develop Next-Gen ADCs on Novel Payload Platform

Editor’s Take: As certain ADCs move into earlier lines of therapy across major solid tumor indications, an unmet need remains.

DualityBio will partner with Genentech to use the proprietary DualityBio Unique Payload Antibody Conjugate (DUPAC), developing next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

The collaboration and license agreement gives Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, exclusivity to ADCs produced from the partnership. DualityBio will generate and develop the ADCs against oncology targets Genentech defines, using payloads from the DUPAC platform.

How DualityBio Platform Works

DUPAC is dedicated to payloads with novel mechanisms of action, comprising multiple distinct payloads each built on unique antitumor mechanisms. These are then paired with optimized, compatible linker technologies that are designed for systemic stability and tumor-specific release.

DualityBio uses a common set of criteria to engineer DUPAC payloads. Among these: high potency, broad-spectrum activity across tumor types, short systemic half-life, and a bystander effect suited to heterogeneous tumors.

Unmet Need in ADC Therapy

Topoisomerase inhibitor-based ADCs are moving into earlier lines of therapy across major solid tumor indications. This means that patients who progress on this payload class are indicative of a large, growing area of unmet need.

Highlighting this issue, John Zhu, PhD, DualityBio Founder and CEO.

“We built DUPAC to help address this challenge with a family of next-generation payloads designed to overcome resistance,” Zhu said. “We can advance these programs with greater speed and scale and bring differentiated medicines to more patients around the world.”

Genentech’s Angle

Boris L. Zaïtra, head of Roche Corporate Business Development, agreed.

“By further enhancing targeted medicines like ADCs, we focus our innovation where the need is highest,” Zaïtra said. “Collaborating with partners such as DualityBio enables us to identify novel treatment options, so we can tackle patients’ unmet needs.”

Financially, DualityBio receives a $45 million upfront payment. The company is then eligible to get more than $1 billion additionally through milestone payments across all programs.