SHANGHAI and WOODINVILLE, Wash., September 16, 2026 — Shanghai Escugen Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (“Escugen”) and Sovran Bio, Inc. (“Sovran”) jointly announced the expansion of their collaboration through a new agreement to co-develop a first-in-class, pan-tumor, bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The companies have worked together to define a novel AND-gated target combination designed to unlock the potential of MICA/B as a pan-tumor marker of oncogenic stress. Because MICA/B is also expressed by healthy tissue, it cannot by itself distinguish tumor cells from normal cells. Pairing it with a second target that is also present on tumors, but generally not on healthy tissue, is required to drive the preferential binding needed to spare normal tissue. The resulting bispecific enables selective proprietary-payload delivery to essentially any tumor while sparing healthy tissue.
Dr. David Meininger, Founder of Sovran, explained that “this new agreement is the outcome of intensive effort made over the past year to define the requirements for optimal target engagement in the context of novel bispecifics. Our lead bispecific ADC combines three mechanisms of action in a single drug: inhibition of MICA/B shedding, direct killing via Escugen’s EZWi-Fit® technology, and dual targeting of MICA/B and a second tumor marker to provide several orders of magnitude greater selectivity for tumor over normal tissue.”
Dr. Qing Zhou, Co-Founder and CEO of Escugen, remarked that “the co-development agreement is the result of tremendous progress made by the companies toward understanding the desired attributes in a pan-tumor ADC. We believe that we’re on track to produce a drug that will benefit patients who currently have no viable treatment options.”
About Sovran
Sovran Bio is a biopharmaceutical research and development company established in 2024 and based in Woodinville, Washington. The company is focused on designing novel approaches to pan-tumor therapy. Pipeline efforts include pursuit of additional solutions to challenges inherent to broad-spectrum targeting in oncology, autoimmunity and other disease areas. For more information, visit https://sovranbio.com/.
About Escugen
Shanghai Escugen Biotechnology Co., Ltd. was established in 2017 in Zhangjiang High-Tech Park, Pudong New Area, Shanghai. The company focuses on innovative drug development in the fields of oncology and autoimmune disease. The founding team has decades of experience in both international and domestic biopharmaceutical companies. The R&D team is professionally comprehensive, covering antibody engineering, conjugation technology, CMC, and clinical development.
Escugen has pioneered the EZWi-Fit® linker-payload technology platform with global intellectual property rights. Clinical safety and efficacy of ADCs based on this platform technology have been validated through ongoing clinical trials. Multiple domestic and international partners have also advanced innovative ADCs based on this platform into the clinic.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the companies’ planned co-development of a bispecific ADC, the potential benefits and selectivity of the product candidate, and expectations regarding future development timelines. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks inherent in drug discovery, preclinical and clinical development, and regulatory approval. Neither Escugen nor Sovran undertakes any obligation to update these statements except as required by law.
Source: Sovran Bio, Inc.