Japan-based Daiichi Sankyo Company Limited and Sarah Cannon Research Institute, a subsidiary of HCA Healthcare, have dosed the first patient in a first-in-human phase 1/2 study assessing DS-7300, an investigational B7-H3 targeting antibody drug conjugate, intended to treat patients with various advanced solid tumours that have progressed on standard treatments or for whom no standard treatment exists, it was reported on Friday.

The study is the first in the strategic oncology collaboration between both firms, intended to accelerate and optimise global clinical development of Daiichi Sankyo's novel antibody drug conjugates and other targeted cancer therapies by merging the operational and scientific expertise of both organisations.

The product is the fourth antibody drug conjugate in clinical development using Daiichi Sankyo's proprietary DXd technology and it was designed to target and deliver chemotherapy inside cancer cells that express the B7-H3 protein, which is frequently overexpressed in various types of cancers and has been associated with disease progression and poor prognosis in many tumour types.