Switzerland-based Ymmunobio AG (YB), which focuses on the development of new cancer therapeutics, announced on Friday that its two-antibody drug conjugate (ADC) assets, YB-800ADC1 and YB-800ADC2, have completed preclinical proof of concept studies.

Both in vivo and in vitro studies have reached this key milestone by demonstrating the anti-tumour efficacy of both ADCs.

The ADCs are derived from YB's lead antibody YB-800, which targets a novel and first in class tumour marker. They utilise established payloads and a third-generation linker, demonstrating a tumour growth inhibition of 90%, YB said.

"These excellent results allow YB to move forward swiftly to prepare for the pivotal toxicology studies," explained Ymmunobio CEO, Peter Schiemann. "This is a major step towards the clinical development of our ADCs in solid tumours and demonstrates the potential for YB's ADCs to address unmet needs for cancer patients expressing the new novel tumour marker.

"In addition, the proof-of-concept data support the preclinical development of the two YB-800 based radiopharmaceuticals developed in collaboration with the Paul Scherer Institute."