Biocytogen & Acepodia Target Cancer with Dual-Payload ADC Alliance

BEIJING & ALAMEDA, Calif. & TAIPEI, Taiwan – January 09, 2026 – Biotechnology innovators Biocytogen and Acepodia have significantly expanded their collaboration, entering into an option and license agreement to develop a new class of cancer-fighting drugs. The partnership aims to engineer first-in-class therapies known as dual-payload bispecific antibody-drug conjugates (BsAD2Cs), representing a sophisticated new frontier in the war against cancer and other complex diseases.

The agreement grants Acepodia the option to secure an exclusive worldwide license for two of Biocytogen’s bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (BsADC) programs. While the financial terms remain undisclosed, the deal structure includes an upfront option fee for Biocytogen, with potential for substantial future payments tied to development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, plus royalties on sales. This strategic alliance builds on a previous co-development effort, signaling strong confidence in the combined potential of their proprietary technologies.

The Next Evolution in Targeted Therapy

For decades, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have been hailed as “molecular missiles” in oncology. These therapies link a powerful cytotoxic drug (a payload) to a monoclonal antibody that seeks out specific protein markers, or antigens, on the surface of cancer cells. This approach allows for the targeted delivery of a potent toxin directly to the tumor, minimizing collateral damage to healthy tissue.

However, the complexity of cancer, particularly its ability to evolve and resist treatment, has driven the need for more advanced solutions. Tumors are often heterogeneous, meaning they consist of diverse cell populations with different characteristics. Some cells may lack the specific antigen targeted by a conventional ADC, allowing them to escape treatment and drive disease relapse.

This is where bispecific ADCs (BsADCs) come in. Instead of targeting a single antigen, they use a bispecific antibody capable of binding to two different targets simultaneously. This dual-targeting approach enhances the ADC’s ability to lock onto cancer cells, improves its internalization, and can help overcome resistance mechanisms tied to the loss of a single antigen.

This collaboration takes the concept a step further into the realm of dual-payload bispecific ADCs (BsAD2Cs). These next-generation therapeutics not only target two different antigens but also carry two distinct cytotoxic payloads. By delivering two different drugs with different mechanisms of action in a single package, BsAD2Cs are designed to launch a multi-pronged attack, making it significantly harder for cancer cells to survive and develop resistance.

A Synergy of Platforms

The partnership’s strength lies in the powerful synergy between each company's cutting-edge platform. Biocytogen brings its proprietary RenLite® mouse platform to the table. These genetically engineered mice produce a vast library of fully human antibodies with a unique common light chain structure. This feature is critical for developing bispecific antibodies, as it elegantly solves common manufacturing challenges related to antibody chain mispairing, resulting in purer and more stable drug candidates.

“This new agreement builds upon our recent co-development collaboration with Acepodia, which has focused on the evaluation and selection of leading bispecific antibody and dual-payload ADC candidates,” said Dr. Yuelei Shen, President and CEO of Biocytogen. “Based on the preclinical research conducted to date, we believe that the combination of Biocytogen’s RenLite® platform with Acepodia’s Antibody-Dual-Drugs Conjugation (AD2C) technology offers a compelling approach for the development of next-generation dual-payload bispecific ADCs.”

Complementing Biocytogen’s antibody discovery engine is Acepodia’s innovative Antibody-Dual-Drugs Conjugation (AD2C) technology. This platform leverages bio-orthogonal “click chemistry”—a concept that earned its pioneers a Nobel Prize—to precisely attach two different linker-payload systems onto a single antibody. A key advantage of the AD2C platform is its ability to perform this site-specific conjugation without requiring complex and potentially destabilizing antibody engineering, preserving the antibody's natural structure and binding capabilities.

“This option-based framework allows us to systematically assess how dual-payload conjugation strategies can be applied to bispecific antibody formats,” commented Sonny Hsiao, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Acepodia. “This collaboration reflects our focus on disciplined, data-driven AD2C platform expansion.”

Strategic Maneuvering in a Competitive Field

The expanded alliance is a calculated move in the fiercely competitive and rapidly growing ADC market, which is projected to exceed $30 billion by the early 2030s. The field is currently dominated by pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer (following its acquisition of ADC pioneer Seagen) and the powerful AstraZeneca-Daiichi Sankyo partnership, which has produced blockbuster drugs like Enhertu.

For specialized biotech firms like Biocytogen and Acepodia, strategic collaborations are essential to compete and innovate. By pooling their complementary expertise, they can accelerate the development of highly differentiated therapies that larger players may not be pursuing. The option-based structure of the deal is particularly shrewd, as it allows Acepodia to conduct a structured evaluation of the BsADC programs and make data-driven decisions before committing to full-scale licensing and development. This mitigates financial risk while maximizing the potential for a breakthrough discovery.

The partnership aims to create a new paradigm for ADCs, moving beyond incremental improvements to address the fundamental challenges that limit the long-term efficacy of current treatments.

The Promise for Patients

Beyond the scientific innovation and business strategy, the ultimate goal of this collaboration is to deliver tangible benefits to patients. The development of BsAD2Cs holds the promise of more effective and durable treatments for individuals battling some of the most difficult-to-treat cancers. For patients with tumors that have become resistant to standard chemotherapy or even existing targeted therapies, these novel agents could offer a new lifeline.

By attacking tumor heterogeneity and resistance head-on, BsAD2Cs have the potential to produce deeper responses and delay or prevent disease progression. The enhanced precision of dual targeting, combined with the synergistic power of two payloads, could also lead to a better safety profile by allowing for effective tumor killing at lower drug doses, thereby reducing off-target toxicity.

While oncology is the primary focus, Acepodia’s platform is also being positioned for potential applications in autoimmune diseases, where the ability to precisely eliminate specific disease-causing immune cells could offer a transformative alternative to broad immunosuppressants. As the joint team progresses towards its candidate evaluation milestones, the future of these first-in-class drug candidates will be shaped by the very data-driven approach that defines the collaboration, holding the potential to write a new chapter in the fight against complex diseases.