Antibody–drug conjugates remain one of oncology’s most active areas of development. Established leaders continue expanding their pipelines, while a growing group of private biotechs is advancing new targets, payloads, and bispecific approaches.

Using BiopharmIQ data available through September 1, 2026, we identified ten companies with notable clinical, regulatory, or financing signals this year.

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The 2026 ADC watchlist

• Adcendo The private Danish biotech launched a first-in-human Phase 1 study of ADCE-B05 and raised a $75 million Series C to advance three ADC programs.
  

• Tubulis Germany-based Tubulis expanded development of TUB-040 through new ovarian and endometrial cancer studies, building momentum behind its platform.
  

• Kivu Bioscience Kivu initiated a Phase 1 trial of KIVU-305, a CEACAM5-targeted ADC, while continuing clinical development of its PTK7 program.
  

• NEOK Bio The company moved two bispecific ADC candidates, NEOK001 and NEOK002, into Phase 1 studies targeting several established oncology antigens.
  

• Iksuda Therapeutics UK-based Iksuda began Phase 1 development of IKS04, an ADC targeting the tumor-associated antigen CA242.
  

• Ona Therapeutics Ona raised approximately $86.6 million to bring two ADC programs, ONA-255 and ONA-389, into clinical development.
  

• Sidewinder Therapeutics A $137 million Series B provided a substantial vote of confidence in Sidewinder’s next-generation bispecific ADC platform.
  

• Daiichi Sankyo The established ADC leader has an October 2026 PDUFA date for ifinatamab deruxtecan in previously treated extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer, alongside continued late-stage pipeline expansion.
  

• Shanghai Henlius Biotech Henlius opened several studies of HLX43, its anti-PD-L1 ADC, across breast and lung cancer indications.
  

• LigaChem Biosciences South Korea’s LigaChem initiated a first-in-human Phase 1/2 study of LCB02A, a CLDN18.2-targeted ADC.

What stands out

The private-company activity is especially notable. Seven of the ten companies on this watchlist are privately held, and several attracted sizable financing rounds alongside meaningful clinical progress.

The list also illustrates how the ADC field is evolving beyond first-generation programs. Bispecific formats, new tumor targets and differentiated linker-payload technologies are increasingly prominent. At the same time, established companies such as Daiichi Sankyo are demonstrating how validated ADC platforms can support multiple products, indications, and regulatory catalysts.

These signals do not predict clinical success. They do, however, highlight where capital, trial activity and regulatory momentum are converging.

From a question to an interactive dashboard with BiopharmIQ MCP

This watchlist began with a straightforward question submitted through BiopharmIQ MCP: Which ADC companies have a meaningful clinical, regulatory, or financing signal in 2026?

By connecting specialized BiopharmIQ data directly to an AI workflow, MCP made it possible to screen companies, compare public and private players, examine supporting signals, and turn the results into a source-linked interactive dashboard.

The value is not simply generating another list. It is being able to explore life-sciences intelligence conversationally and rapidly transform the results into a practical research asset.

👇🏻 Download the interactive ADC dashboard to explore the companies, filter the watchlist by signal type, and see how BiopharmIQ data can be used through MCP.

Article History:

09/07/26 MD