Mabwell (688062.SH), an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company with entire industry chain, announced that its self-developed novel Nectin-4-targeting ADC (R&D code: 9MW2821) has been granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for the treatment of esophageal cancer.

The FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation to treatments for rare diseases in the United States that affect fewer than 200,000 patients. Orphan Drug Designation offers policy benefits to drug developers, including as aid with medication development, tax credits for a part of clinical trial expenditures, and seven years of market exclusivity upon approval.

9MW2821 was previously given Fast Track Designation (FTD) by the FDA for the treatment of advanced, recurrent, or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. It is the first therapeutic drug candidate targeting Nectin-4 in the world to reveal clinical effectiveness data for an esophageal cancer indication.

About 9MW2821

9MW2821 is the first site-specific conjugated novel Nectin-4-targeting ADC developed by Mabwell using ADC platform and automated high-throughput hybridoma antibody molecular discovery platform, and is the first drug candidate to enter clinical study among the Nectin-4-targeting ADCs developed by Chinese companies. Multiple clinical studies of 9MW2821 have been conducted in China to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic characteristics, and efficacy of 9MW2821 in patients with various advanced solid tumors.

The phase III clinical study of 9MW2821 monotherapy has officially been initiated in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who have previously received platinum-based chemotherapy and PD-(L)1 inhibitor therapy. The phase I/II clinical study of 9MW2821 in combination with PD-1 inhibitors is also ongoing, with the first patient already enrolled. 9MW2821 was granted Fast Track Designation (FTD) and Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) by the FDA. Currently, 9MW2821 is the first therapeutic drug candidate targeting Nectin-4 in the world to disclose clinical efficacy and safety data for indications of cervical cancer and esophageal carcinoma.