Drugmakers have their sights set on a class of cancer drugs known as antibody drug conjugates, or ADCs, to drive growth, CNBC reported Jan. 14.
ADCs deliver targeted therapy specifically to cancer cells with the potential to minimize damage to healthy cells. As of June 2023, 11 had been approved by the FDA.
"They have proven to deliver more potent and effective anti-tumor activities than standard practice in a variety of indications," researchers said in a review published last summer.
While ADCs are not new, they began to attract more interest from drugmakers in recent years, which analysts say is likely due to improvements in technology that seem to have made newer iterations of the drugs safer and more effective, ultimately encouraging more investments in the space. The technology behind the ADCs is complex, which could reduce the chances that other companies will create biosimilars, allowing drugmakers to keep prices high.
ADCs are projected to account for $31 billion of the $357 billion global cancer market by 2028, according to Evaluate market research cited by CNBC. This is up from the $9.7 billion they were estimated to account for in 2023.
In the first week of the year, Johnson & Johnson announced plans to acquire Ambrx Biopharma, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing ADCs, for $2 billion. Pfizer and Merck have also invested in ADCs as part of larger company growth strategies.
"It's kind of like FOMO, right? Everyone wants to gain exposure to [ADCs] and basically make it a cornerstone of their entire corporate strategy," Andy Hsieh, PhD, an analyst at Wiliam Blair & Company, told the news outlet. "I really don't see any sort of slowing down and it will very much, in our view, be a continuation of the 2023 momentum."