AstraZeneca says it remains confident in its ADC pipeline after dropping two underperforming candidates

AstraZeneca executives told Fierce they are very confident in their internally developed antibody‑drug conjugate (ADC) program despite recent setbacks.

The company has discontinued two ADC candidates. The first, tilatamig samrotecan, an EGFR‑cMET TOP1 inhibitor ADC, was stopped after a phase‑1 study of 403 patients showed unimpressive pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

The second, AZD4360, a CLDN18.2‑targeted TOP1 inhibitor ADC, was halted in a phase‑1 trial of 117 patients because it failed to demonstrate efficacy.

AstraZeneca remains a major player in the ADC market, anchored by its approved products Enhertu and Datroway, and says the setbacks will not deter further development of its pipeline.