Qurient announced on Monday that its next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidate, QP101, has been recognized as a notable drug development strategy by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
The AACR’s official publication, Cancer Research Catalyst, selected QP101 as one of four emerging therapeutic strategies following the recent AACR D3 conference.
AACR is widely regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious academic organizations in cancer research. Having research featured on its official channel is seen as a significant endorsement of a company’s technological prowess and research direction.
Cancer Research Catalyst highlighted QP101 alongside three other promising developments from over 200 research presentations at AACR D3. These included KRAS-targeted ADCs, predictive biomarkers for Enhertu response, and mRNA therapeutic approaches for prostate cancer.
QP101 is an innovative dual-payload ADC that combines two types of drugs with a single antibody to enhance anticancer efficacy. Qurient aims to address the limitations of existing HER2-targeted ADCs, particularly issues of resistance and non-responsiveness, by incorporating CDK7 inhibitors and topoisomerase 1 (TOP1) inhibitors.
In an interview with the AACR official channel, researchers explained that QP101 could induce a BRCAness state by inhibiting DNA damage repair through CDK7 suppression. This approach potentially offers more sustained therapeutic effects in a broader range of HER2-positive patients compared to current ADCs.
Last month at the AACR D3 conference, Qurient presented promising non-clinical research results for QP101. The company reported superior anticancer effects and improved safety profiles compared to existing HER2-targeted ADCs in both HER2 ADC-resistant models and various patient-derived HER2-positive models.
A spokesperson for Qurient stated that its inclusion among the four research achievements highlighted by the AACR official channel demonstrates the growing interest of global researchers in the dual-payload ADC strategy. They’re committed to further proving the competitive edge of the platform technology in overcoming ADC resistance and non-responsiveness.