Astellas Pharma has a new partner in the R&D of a type of cancer drug called an antibody drug conjugate (ADC). The Japanese pharma company reached across the Pacific Ocean to collaborate with Sutro Biopharma in a bet that Bay Area-based firm’s technology can deliver more powerful ADCs.
Antibody drug conjugates deliver a targeted strike to tumors, but the toxic payloads of these therapies can still reach healthy tissue. Mythic Therapeutics' FateControl technology ensures that more of an ADC's drug payload reaches the tumor, and CEO Alex Nichols is steering the startup out of stealth with $103 million and a lead program in lung cancer.