Heidelberg Pharma and Huadong Medicine Expand Partnership to Co-Develop Next-Generation Antibody Drug Conjugates
核心洞察
Heidelberg Pharma (搜索) Research GmbH and Huadong Medicine (搜索) have signed a new collaboration agreement to jointly research and develop next-generation Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) involving up to six targets.
The partnership combines Heidelberg Pharma (搜索)'s proprietary ATAC technology platform and novel toxin payloads with Huadong Medicine (搜索)'s R&D capabilities to advance bispecific and multispecific ADCs.
The new ADCs may incorporate Huadong's proprietary antibodies or technologies and carry dual payloads, aiming to improve targeting precision, safety, and biological efficacy for patients with relapsed/refractory diseases.
Heidelberg Pharma (搜索) AG (FSE: HPHA), a clinical-stage biotech company developing innovative Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs), announced on 28 August 2026 that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Heidelberg Pharma Research GmbH, has signed a new collaboration agreement with its strategic partner Huadong Medicine (搜索) Co., Ltd., based in Hangzhou, China. Huadong Medicine is the second-largest shareholder of Heidelberg Pharma AG.
Under the agreement, the parties will deepen their collaboration in research and early-stage development by combining and leveraging their complementary technologies, expertise, and resources. The partnership aims to create synergies and drive the development of innovative next-generation ADCs, including bispecific and multispecific ADCs, involving up to six targets.
Combining Proprietary ADC Technologies
The collaboration brings together Heidelberg Pharma (搜索)'s proprietary ATAC technology platform and other novel toxin payloads with Huadong Medicine (搜索)'s state-of-the-art R&D capabilities. The new ADCs may incorporate proprietary antibodies or technologies from Huadong Medicine and may carry dual payloads. This combination is designed to improve the targeting precision and safety of the drugs, while enhancing biological efficacy and clinical benefits, thereby offering potentially transformative therapeutic options for patients with relapsed/refractory diseases.
The agreement foresees that ownership of the resulting development candidates will be allocated between the partners, taking into account their respective contributions.
Expanding the Pipeline
The collaboration is expected to expand Heidelberg Pharma (搜索)'s pipeline with new product candidates. Dr. Dongzhou Jeffery Liu, Chief Executive Officer of Heidelberg Pharma, commented: "The new research and development agreement between Heidelberg Pharma and Huadong Medicine (搜索) will take this established strategic partnership to the next level. We aim to set new standards by combining both companies' strengths and technologies to develop additional innovative conjugation drug candidates for cancer treatment. This will enable us to initiate a steady stream of research projects and secure new drug candidates for Heidelberg Pharma's product pipeline. We look forward to a strong collaboration focused on shaping the future of therapeutic options for patients."
Heidelberg Pharma's ATAC Platform and Pipeline
Heidelberg Pharma (搜索) is the first company to develop cancer therapies using Amanitin, a compound derived from the green death cap mushroom. The biological mechanism of action of the toxin represents a new therapeutic modality and is used as a compound in the Amanitin-based ADC technology, the so-called ATAC technology.
The company's lead candidate, HDP-101 (INN: pamlectabart tismanitin), is a BCMA (搜索) ATAC in clinical development for multiple myeloma (搜索). The candidate has been granted Orphan Drug Designation and Fast Track Designation from the FDA. A second ATAC candidate, HDP-102, is in the clinical development stage in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (搜索). HDP-103 against metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (搜索) and HDP-104 targeting gastrointestinal tumors such as colorectal cancer (搜索) have completed preclinical development. These programs are available for partnering.
Heidelberg Pharma (搜索) is based in Ladenburg, Germany, and is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol HPHA.