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Innovent presents first clinical data for first-in-class EGFR/B7H3 bispecific ADC

Innovent presents first clinical data for first-in-class EGFR/B7H3 bispecific ADC

New Capabilities

Phase 1 readout shows tumor responses across heavily pre-treated solid tumors, including pancreatic and small-cell lung cancer

Overview

Updated Oct 26

Innovent Biologics presented the first clinical data for IBI3001, an EGFR/B7H3 bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC, a targeted drug carrying a chemotherapy payload), at the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) congress. Of 57 patients who received the drug, 78.9% had two or more prior treatment lines. Among 53 patients evaluable for response, 30.2% responded and 88.7% had disease control.

The strongest signals came in small-cell lung cancer, where 5 of 8 patients responded, and in EGFR-mutant lung cancer, where median progression-free survival reached 7.7 months in 16 patients. Grade 3 or higher treatment-related side effects affected 47.4% of patients, mostly blood-related, with no treatment-related deaths. The sample sizes are small. Innovent has moved IBI3001 into a Phase 1b dose-optimization study and plans expansion in later-line refractory cancers.

Why it matters

If the signals hold, one bispecific ADC could extend treatment options for EGFR-mutant lung, pancreatic, and small-cell lung cancers.

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Key Indicators

30.2%
Objective response rate across all 53 evaluable patients
Across tumor types; 78.9% of enrolled patients had received two or more prior treatments.
45.0%
Response rate at the 8 mg/kg dose
Best-efficacy dose cohort; disease control rate reached 100%.
7.7 months
Median progression-free survival in EGFR-mutant NSCLC
16 patients; disease control rate was 93.8%.
62.5%
Response rate in small-cell lung cancer
5 of 8 evaluable SCLC patients responded; disease control rate reached 100%.
47.4%
Grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events
Hematologic toxicities dominated; one patient discontinued, no treatment-related deaths.

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Timeline

April 2024 October 2026

4 events Latest: October 25th, 2026 · 2 weeks ago
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  1. First IBI3001 Phase 1 data presented at ESMO

    Latest Clinical data release

    At ESMO 2026, Innovent presents IBI3001 Phase 1 data in a Proffered Paper session and publishes full results via press release.

  2. Innovent announces ESMO presentation lineup

    Announcement

    Innovent says it will unveil global multicenter Phase 1 data for IBI3001 at the 2026 ESMO congress.

  3. Data cutoff for Phase 1 analysis

    Data milestone

    The data cutoff for the Phase 1 analysis presented at ESMO. The press release reports 57 patients had received IBI3001 monotherapy by then.

  4. Innovent initiates Phase 1 study of IBI3001

    Clinical trial

    Innovent opens a Phase 1 study (NCT06349408) of IBI3001 in patients with solid tumors, originally planned in Australia for up to 180 participants.

Scenarios

1

IBI3001 enters registrational trials in EGFR-mutant NSCLC

Likely Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Innovent's own statements; the company named EGFR-mutant NSCLC and other refractory cancers as Phase 1b expansion priorities.

EGFR-mutant NSCLC produced the most mature signal: 31.3% ORR, 93.8% disease control, and 7.7-month median PFS in 16 patients with EGFR-mutant NSCLC in the study. Options after EGFR-directed therapy are limited, but the source does not compare them. If Phase 1b dose optimization confirms the response, Innovent could open a registrational study in this population.

2

Phase 1b finds the therapeutic window too narrow

Possible Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: VCBeat's analysis of the ESMO data; the 47.4% grade 3+ TRAE rate, dominated by hematologic toxicity, is the main constraint on dose escalation.

The 8 mg/kg cohort delivered the best efficacy (45% ORR) but also produced a dose-limiting toxicity, and the 10 mg/kg cohort saw another. If dose optimization lands below 6 mg/kg to improve tolerability, response rates could slip below Phase 1a levels. The open question is whether the window between effective and toxic dosing is wide enough for a commercially viable drug.

3

Pancreatic cancer becomes a lead expansion indication

Possible Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: The ESMO dataset; The ESMO dataset. The 6.9-month median PFS is from 15 patients, 86.7% of whom were third line or later..

Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to treat, and patients in later lines typically have short survival. A 6.9-month median PFS in 15 patients, 86.7% of whom were beyond third line and 93.3% of whom had prior irinotecan, stands out. If the Phase 1b expansion duplicates this in a larger cohort, Innovent could prioritize pancreatic alongside EGFR-mutant NSCLC.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2016-2019

Trastuzumab deruxtecan Phase 1 (2016)

Daiichi Sankyo unveiled its HER2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate, trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu), at a 2016 cancer conference. Built on a topoisomerase I inhibitor payload with bystander killing, it produced durable responses in breast cancer patients who had failed T-DM1. The FDA granted accelerated approval in December 2019.

Then

The drug became a standard therapy across HER2+ breast cancer and later expanded into gastric, lung, and colorectal cancers.

Now

It became the design blueprint for next-generation ADCs, proving that optimized payloads and bystander effects matter as much as the antibody.

Why this matters now

IBI3001 uses a topoisomerase I inhibitor payload and a bystander effect, as Enhertu does, and designs in bystander killing. Investors and oncologists will measure it against Enhertu's trajectory from Phase 1 to approval.

May 2021

Amivantamab approval for EGFR-mutant NSCLC (2021)

Janssen's amivantamab (Rybrevant), a bispecific antibody targeting EGFR and MET, was approved by the FDA for non-small-cell lung cancer with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations. It was among the first bispecific antibody therapies cleared for a solid tumor.

Then

Showed that bispecific antibodies can succeed in EGFR-driven solid tumors where single-target antibodies fell short.

Now

Paved the regulatory and clinical path for dual-targeting biologics in lung cancer, now including ADCs like IBI3001.

Why this matters now

IBI3001 applies the same dual-target logic to an ADC context—delivering a cytotoxic payload on top of EGFR blockade rather than relying on signaling inhibition alone.

Sources

(8)