China’s Growing Impact on ADC Development at AACR 2025

The 2025 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting is set to take place in Chicago, USA, from April 25 to 30. The recently released conference abstracts highlight the strong presence of Chinese biopharmaceutical companies in the field of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

At this year’s conference, Chinese pharmaceutical companies dominate the ADC field, presenting nearly 100 innovative ADCs that explore diverse technological approaches and novel targets, reinforcing China’s position at the forefront of ADC innovation.

Bispecific ADCs: A Leading Trend in ADC Innovation

Bispecific ADCs have become one of the hottest areas in ADC research, with numerous Chinese pharmaceutical companies actively engaged, including Bliss Bio, Biocytogen, BioRay, VelaVigo, HANGZHOU DAC BIOTECHNOLOGY, Hengrui, CStone Pharmaceuticals, GeneScience Pharmaceuticals, Alphamab Oncology, Kyinno Biotechnology, Shanghai allygen biologics, GeneQuantum Healthcare, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group, Phrontline Biopharma, Simcere Pharmaceutical, Innovent Biologics, Duality Biologics, Affinity Bio, and others.

One standout example is ALPHAMAB ONCOLOGY, which is advancing a bispecific dual-payload ADC, JSKN021 (EGFR/HER3 bispecific ADC), demonstrating enhanced tumor-targeting capabilities.

Dual-Payload ADCs: Advancing into Clinical Trials

Dual-payload ADCs are emerging as a key innovation in next-generation ADCs. Kanghong Pharmaceutical and Affinity Biopharmaceutical are actively developing dual-payload ADCs.

Kanghong Pharmaceutical’s KH815 is the world’s first dual-payload ADC to enter clinical trials. It carries two payloads—a TOP1 inhibitor (TOP1i) and an RNA polymerase II inhibitor (RAN POL2i)—which work together to suppress RNA synthesis and induce DNA double-strand breaks, resulting in enhanced anti-tumor efficacy.

Non-Internalizing ADCs & TCE-ADCs: Breaking Traditional Boundaries

Traditional ADCs rely on receptor-mediated endocytosis for toxin release. However, MediLink Therapeutics has developed an innovative non-internalizing ADC that targets free VEGF and releases the payload through tumor microenvironment-specific enzymes, thereby expanding the potential applications of ADCs.

Nanjing Leadsbiolabs has introduced the world’s first TCE-ADC (T-cell engager ADC), LBL-058 (DLL3/CD3 ADC). This innovative design combines DLL3/CD3 bispecific antibodies with a TOP1i payload, harnessing both T-cell cytotoxicity and ADC-mediated cell death to offer a novel strategy for solid tumor therapy.

Conclusion

The AACR 2025 conference highlights the diversity and cutting-edge advancements in China’s ADC innovations, showcasing novel target ADCs, bispecific ADCs, dual-payload ADCs, PDCs, TCE-ADCs, and non-internalizing ADCs. While this conference does not cover ADC applications in autoimmune diseases (such as those in InnoEn Bio’s clinical-stage projects), this field remains a key area of interest.

In the coming years, clinical breakthroughs and global expansion will continue to be central focuse for Chinese ADC companies. As more Duality Biologics ADCs advance into clinical trials and commercialization, China’s influence in the global ADC landscape is set to grow significantly.

Appendix: Chinese ADCs at AACR 2025