Has interest in ADCs peaked? — a Perspective

Just two years ago, antibody-drug conjugates were all that anyone could talk about. Hundreds of companies set out to find the next Enhertu, an ADC capable of upending standard of care in large cancer indications by adding years to patients’ lives. This hasn’t happened yet, and the vibe seems to be shifting from ADCs to the next modality of the moment — bispecifics.

The recent ADC frenzy kicked off in 2022, when Enhertu trastuzumab deruxtecan from Astrazeneca plc (LSE:AZN; NYSE:AZN) and Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4568) earned a standing ovation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting for the remarkable clinical benefit it produced in a large, early-line breast cancer population...