Whitehawk Therapeutics Inc. (WHWK) entered into an option agreement with Hangzhou DAC for access to CPT113 linker-payload technology to develop up to five additional antibody drug conjugate programs.
Under the agreement terms, Whitehawk will select targets and source antibodies while retaining global rights and full program control for the new ADC programs. The company anticipates submitting Investigational New Drug applications for multiple new programs over the next 12-24 months.
Whitehawk’s ADC platform combines CPT113 as the core linker-payload technology with its proprietary Carbon Bridge Cysteine Re-pairing bioconjugation process. The company states this approach supports improved stability and therapeutic index compared to existing methods.
"This option agreement reflects our conviction in CPT113 as the core linker-payload foundation of our ADC platform," said Dave Lennon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Whitehawk Therapeutics.
External validation for CPT113 technology includes Hangzhou DAC’s DXC006, a CD56-directed ADC utilizing CPT113 that is being evaluated in a Phase 1 study in China for solid tumor populations. Data from DXC006 were accepted for presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.
Johnson & Johnson also disclosed JNJ‑95437446, an amivantamab-based EGFR/MET ADC using CPT113, at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, with the compound currently in Phase 1 clinical development.
Whitehawk currently has two ADC programs in Phase 1 dose-escalation trials. HWK-007, targeting PTK7, completed the first dose cohort at 2 mg/kg and is enrolling the second cohort at 4 mg/kg. HWK-016, targeting MUC16, is enrolling the first dose cohort at 2.5 mg/kg. Data from both programs are expected in the first half of 2027.
The company will present the design of its HWK-007 Phase 1 study in a Trials-in-Progress poster at ASCO on May 30, 2026.