Qurient announced on Wednesday that its global partner, Lonza, presented their collaborative dual payload antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform strategy at the 17th World ADC 2026 in San Diego, California.
Dr. Anette Sommer, Lonza’s head of ADC research, highlighted the limitations of current ADCs, which rely on a narrow range of payloads, leading to resistance and unresponsiveness due to tumor heterogeneity.
To address these challenges, they introduced a dual payload ADC approach, showcasing the SYN-duo CC. This innovative platform combines Qurient’s CDK7 inhibitor with Lonza’s linker-payload structure in a single antibody. The World ADC event marked the first public unveiling of SYN-duo CC.
ADCs are cutting-edge therapies that link cancer-targeting antibodies with cell-killing drugs. While traditional ADCs typically carry a single drug type, dual payload ADCs aim to overcome drug resistance and boost therapeutic efficacy by combining two drugs with distinct mechanisms of action.
Dr. Sommer also presented Qurient’s dual payload ADC, QP101, which utilizes a structure similar to SYN-duo CC. Qurient’s CDK7 inhibitor works by blocking the transcriptional activation of oncogenic factors MYC and E2F while suppressing homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene expression, thereby enhancing cancer cell sensitivity to TOP1 inhibitors.
QP101 demonstrated improved tumor suppression compared to Enhertu in Enhertu-resistant and HER2-positive patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. Notably, primate repeated toxicity tests showed no significant toxicity even at high doses of 90 mg/kg, achieving a remarkable therapeutic index exceeding 30.
The two companies recently inked a co-commercialization agreement for the dual payload ADC platform, merging Qurient’s CDK7 inhibitor payload with Lonza’s linker-payload technology.
Under this agreement, they will jointly license the technology to global pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Revenue from upfront payments, milestones, and royalties generated through third-party technology transfers will be shared based on a mutually agreed ratio.
This partnership builds on Qurient’s consistent validation of QP101’s proof of concept and experimental data at global conferences. The collaboration is expected to accelerate platform business development by tapping into Lonza’s extensive global customer network and business development expertise.
Nam Ki-yeon, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Qurient, stated that its partnership with Lonza opens up new avenues for global drug developers to access Qurient’s CDK7 inhibitor payload through Lonza’s worldwide network. By making the dual payload ADC platform available to the global biotech industry, it aims to expedite next-generation ADC development and expand access to improved treatment options for patients worldwide.
