Celtic launches newco to develop ADC programs

Private equity firm Celtic Therapeutics launched newco ADC Therapeutics S.a.r.l. (Lausanne, Switzerland) with an initial $50 million to develop a pipeline of 10 preclinical antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) programs for cancer. Celtic said the programs use pyrrolobenzodiazepines payload technology from Spirogen Ltd. (London, U.K.), which is also majority owned by Celtic. Celtic said ADC Therapeutics will focus on advancing initial programs through preclinical development over the next 12 months, with the goal of moving at least one program into the clinic within two years. The newco plans to seek development and marketing partners after Phase II proof of concept (POC), with the goal of achieving POC for 2-3 programs within 3-5 years. The programs target multiple cancers, including prostate, renal, breast, lung and blood cancers. ...