Adcendo banks US$75m to push ADC pipeline forward

Investor appetite for companies developing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for hard-to-treat cancers remains unbroken: Adcendo ApS has secured US$75m in new financing to accelerate its pipeline of ADCs, a class of “smart” cancer drugs that attach a powerful toxin to a guiding antibody, delivering the payload directly to tumour cells while sparing most healthy tissue. The funds will support early-phase trials of two leading candidates – one targeting a protein that helps tumours invade blood vessels and another aiming at a receptor involved in tumour cell uptake – plus preclinical work on a third, ADC with an undisclosed target.

The company’s three clinical-stage ADCs are designed to hit proteins that are either uniquely abundant on cancer cells or play a key role in tumour invasion and metastasis, making them attractive targets for hard-to-treat solid tumours. ADCE-T02, licensed from Multitude Therapeutics in a 2024 US$1bn biobucks deal, targets Tissue Factor, a protein that helps tumours stimulate new blood-vessel growth and is often overexpressed in aggressive cancers such as pancreatic, lung and certain gynaecologic tumours. ADCE-D01 is directed at uPARAP, a receptor that tumour cells use to take in and recycle proteins from their surroundings, a pathway that supports invasion and spread in several solid cancers, especially soft-tissue sarcoma and other mesenchymal cancers.

Both candidates have already entered first-in-human Phase 1/2 studies, with early data expected to help define the optimal dose, safety profile and initial signs of anti-tumour activity. The third ADC in the pipeline remains undisclosed at this stage but is reported to be in late preclinical development and on track for clinical entry later this year.

The financing round, led by Jeito Capital with participation from Vida Ventures, BPI France, EIFO and all existing investors, was oversubscribed and adds to Adcendo’s previous Series B financing of around US$135m.

Jeito Capital, which now manages more than €1.6bn after closing its second fund at US$1.2bn earlier this month, sees Adcendo as a flagship European ADC platform. Ksenija Pavletic, General Partner and Chief Commercial Officer of Jeito Capital, who will join the Adcendo Board of Directors, described the company as “a noteworthy combination of bold innovation and strong clinical development strategy and execution.”