BRIEF—ADC in $200 million financing for lymphoma and leukemia candidates

ADC Therapeutics, an oncology drug development company focused on antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting major cancers, has raised $200 million through a private placement.

Investors in the oversubscribed financing included Anglo-Swedish pharma major AstraZeneca, and the proceeds will be used to progress ADCT-301 and ADCT-402 into planned registrational trials in 2018.

Both candidates are currently in four clinical studies in important sub-types of lymphoma and leukemia. ADCT will also advance ADCT-301 into a combination study for solid tumors and to continue the development of the Phase I study of ADCT-502 in patients with advanced solid tumors with HER2 expression, to file submissions for ADCT-602 and ADCT-601, and to progress a pipeline of pre-clinical ADC programs.

Switzerland-based ADC Therapeutics, which has raised $455 million since inception in 2012, expects to have a total of eight programs in clinical development within 18 months.