3rd World ADC Asia Conference 2024: A Gathering of Biotech Pioneers

The 3rd World ADC Asia Conference, held from June 25th to 27th, 2024, in Incheon, South Korea, was a landmark event in the antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) industry. The conference brought together over 250 participants, including top executives, scientists, and industry experts from China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore.

This event focused on addressing critical challenges, sharing the latest advancements, and fostering strategic collaborations to propel ADC development forward. Key sessions covered a range of topics from regulatory guidance and strategic collaborations to innovative technologies and clinical development, providing attendees with valuable insights and networking opportunities.

Event Report: 3rd World ADC Asia Conference 2024

Event Name: 3rd World ADC Asia Conference
Location: Incheon, South Korea
Dates: 25th-27th June 2024

Overview

The 3rd World ADC Asia Conference was a significant event in the antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) industry, uniting leaders and innovators from across the Asia-Pacific region, including China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore. The conference focused on addressing key challenges, sharing advancements, and fostering collaborations in ADC development.

Key Participants

• Ziping Wei, Chief Executive Officer, Bliss Biopharma
• Tse Wen Chang, Founder & Chairman, Immunwork
• Yasuyuki Kaneta, Senior Director, Daiichi Sankyo
• Sun-Hwa Lee, Vice Chief Scientific Officer, Novelty Nobility
• Jun Ge, Executive Director, Head of China Clinical Development, Gilead
• Heidi Wang, Chief Executive Officer, OBI Pharma
• 24 Event Partners & Exhibitors including Cytiva, Samsung Biologics, Johnson & Johnson
• 250+ Attendees including clinical trials division, scientists, and heads of laboratories

Event Highlights

Day 1 - 25 June 2024: Pre-Conference Workshop Day

Workshop A: Navigating Varying Regulatory Guidance to Inform ADC Clinical Studies & Meet Global Regulatory Requirements
Led by Heidi Wang, CEO of OBI Pharma, and Dhiraj Gambhire, Executive Director of Global Clinical Development at Daiichi Sankyo, this workshop addressed the complexities of navigating regulatory frameworks across different countries. Attendees gained insights into overcoming regulatory hurdles in the APAC region, examining requirements from agencies like the FDA, EMA, and NMPA, and best practices for gaining IND approval.

Workshop B: Navigating Strategic Collaborations to Make a Mark in the ADC World
This session, led by Mary Chaohong Hu, an Independent Consultant, and Paul Song, Chief Scientific Officer of Genequantum Healthcare, focused on fostering strategic collaborations to enhance positioning in the ADC field. Participants learned about evaluating potential partners, navigating cultural differences, and enhancing communication with major pharmaceutical companies.

Day 2 - 26 June 2024: Scientific Program

Session 1: Exploring the Clinical Development of ADCs in China to Understand Progress in the Region
Jun Ge, Executive Director, Head of China Clinical Development, Gilead, reviewed the history and progress of ADCs, discussing clinical development globally and in China. He highlighted the significance of the year 2024 for ADC development in the Asia-Pacific region.

Session 2: Exploring the Clinical Results of MRG003 & MRG004A to Develop EFGR Targeted ADCs
Ziye Sui, CEO of Shanghai Miracogen/ Lepu, provided a comprehensive review of clinical results for MRG003, an EGFR-targeted ADC, and MRG004A, a TF-targeted ADC, highlighting their potential in treating nasopharyngeal carcinoma and HNSCC.

Session 3: From Product to Platform: Henlius’ Practices & Progress in ADC to Address Unmet Medical Needs
Dr. Yongqiang Shan, General Manager of Henlius Global Innovation Center, discussed Henlius’ innovative approaches in building a high-quality, affordable, and differentiated pipeline for oncology, autoimmune, and ophthalmic diseases.

Session 4: Leveraging ThioBridge™ Linker Technology for Successful IND Submission
Petra Dieterich, Senior Vice President & Scientific Leader, Abzena, discussed the versatility and innovative features of ThioBridge™ linker technology, presenting case studies that demonstrated its effectiveness in achieving uniform and stable bioconjugates for IND submission.

Session 5: Exploring ADCs With Site-Specific Conjugation, DAR of 8 or 12, & Payloads With Dual Drugs to Turbocharge ADC Innovation
Hsing-Mao Chu, CEO at T-E Meds, outlined the “CHO-TEM” technology, which combines glycan modification and drug bundles technology to create homogeneous ADCs with high DAR and dual drugs, enhancing ADC innovation.

Session 6: Analyzing the Benefits of First-in-Class Stroma Targeting ADC
Natasha Qin, Senior Director of Business Development at Inxmed, discussed how high stroma is a key mechanism leading to resistance in hard-to-treat tumors and showcased the efficacy of stroma-targeting ADCs.

Session 7: Our History to Serve Innovators: A Step Ahead Against the Challenges of the Bioconjugates
Giorgio Salciarini, Technical Business Development Senior Manager, BSP Pharmaceutical, provided insights into sustainable business models, addressing capacity shortages, and integrating services to meet future challenges in bioconjugates.

Session 8: Exploring the Advantages of Using Bispecific ADCs & Their Impact on Efficacy & Toxicity to Increase Patient Treatability
Jinwon Jung, Senior Director at ABL Bio, discussed the development and benefits of bispecific ADCs, highlighting their efficacy and toxicity profiles in increasing patient treatability.

Session 9: Reviewing the Development of DXd ADC Technology & the Latest Clinical Results
Yasuyuki Kaneta, Senior Director of Daiichi Sankyo, provided an overview of the DXd-ADC technology platform, discussing updates on clinical development and the latest results of early DXd assets.

Session 10: Exploring the OBI Pharma ADC Assets & the GlycOBI™ Platform
Heidi Wang, CEO of OBI Pharma, presented the GlycOBI™ platform, which enables site-specific conjugation, and reviewed how assets developed using this platform show improved efficacy, safety, and stability.

Session 11: ADC: Process, Manufacturing, & Quality (CMC)
Steven Kan, CEO of Thousand Oaks Biologics, discussed the development, mechanism of action, and future direction of ADC products, highlighting key considerations in process development and quality management.

Session 12: Development of Eribulin-based Antibody-Drug Conjugates
Ziping Wei, CEO of Bliss Biopharma, discussed preclinical results and the progress of phase 1/2 clinical development for Eribulin-based ADCs BB-1701 and BB-1705.

Session 13: Extractables Studies on Single-Use Components in ADC Manufacturing
Ravi Pujari, Senior Bioprocess Engineer at Cytiva, evaluated the effects of DMSO and DMA on wetted components and discussed the design and safety assessment of extractables studies.

Session 14: Panel Discussion: Mastering Supply Chain Issues in Sourcing Antibodies, Linkers & Payloads to Asia to Plan Ahead & Reduce Lead Times
Panelists Gary Khoo, Vice President CMC at Hummingbird Bioscience, and Lei Zhu, Senior Director at Mersana Therapeutics, addressed supply chain challenges, time zone differences, and accessing European and American markets.

Day 3 - 27 June 2024: Scientific Program

Session 1: Unmet Needs in ADCs for Gastrointestinal Cancer: East-West Differences & Novel Target Strategies Beyond HER2 & TROP2
Seung-Jae Myung, CEO of EDIS Biotech, discussed the unmet needs of ADCs in gastrointestinal cancers, highlighting differences between the East and West and exploring novel target strategies.

Session 2: Developing a Precise ADC for Novel Targets to Take Your ADC From Bench to Bedside
Do-Hyun Nam, Chairman of Aimed Bio, explored target discovery, pre-clinical and clinical translation, and developing best-in-class ADCs for precision oncology.

Session 3: A Flourishing ADC Space
Dr. Jia He, Senior Research Analyst at Beacon Targeted Therapies, reviewed the current ADC landscape, analyzing clinical and preclinical development trends and recent ADC deals.

Session 4: Versatile & Robust Chemical Site-Specific Conjugation Platform: AJICAP® Technology
Tomohiro Fujii, ADC Researcher at Ajinomoto, demonstrated a novel hydrophilic linker technology enabling versatile synthesis of homogeneous DAR and showcased bispecific and trispecific antibodies.

Session 5: SGN-B6A: A Vedotin Antibody-Drug Conjugate that Targets Integrin Beta-6 & Shows Clinical Efficacy in Multiple Solid Tumor Indications
Vivian Trang, Associate Research Fellow at Pfizer, explored the clinical efficacy and safety data of sigvotatug vedotin (SGN-B6A), an investigational first-in-class ADC targeting integrin beta-6.

Session 6: NN3201, a Novel C-Kit Targeting ADC, Exhibits Robust Preclinical Anti-Tumor Efficacy in SCLC & GIST Models
Sun-Hwa Lee, Vice Chief Scientific Officer at Novelty Nobility, discussed the preclinical efficacy of NN3201, a novel C-Kit targeting ADC, in small cell lung cancer and GIST models.

This detailed event report captures the essence of the 3rd World ADC Asia Conference, highlighting key sessions and the valuable insights shared by industry leaders.