Conference Review | Dr. Xue-Ming Qian Attends the 2026 Future XDC New Drug Conference, Shares Progress on RLT Development Using Engineered Antibodies as Ligands

On March 26-27, the 2026 Future XDC New Drug Conference was held at Chengdu Medical City. In the conference's session on nuclear medicine and RDCs, R&D leaders from nuclear technology organizations, innovative biotech companies, and multinational pharmaceutical firms engaged in in-depth discussions on cutting-edge topics such as trends in international RDC pipelines, dual-targeting technologies, small antibody ligands, AI-based screening, and combination therapies.

Dr. Xue-Ming Qian, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Transcenta Holding, was invited to participate in the conference. He shared with attendees the development logic, key technological breakthroughs, and latest preclinical progress of radiopharmaceutical therapies using antibodies as binding ligands, under the theme 'Exploration of RDC Development Strategies Using Antibodies as Binding Ligands.'

Currently, the integration of radiopharmaceutical diagnostics and therapeutics is rapidly becoming a key direction in precision oncology treatment. The core concept lies in a closed-loop system of 'imaging first, then treatment, with full monitoring throughout.' Traditional radioligand therapy (RLT) predominantly uses small molecules or peptides as carriers, whereas monoclonal antibodies, known for their high specificity, good tumor internalization, and prolonged retention in lesions, are emerging as an important choice for next-generation RLT carriers.

Dr. Xue-Ming Qian first focused on TLX591 (¹⁷⁷Lu-rosopatamab tetraxetan), a benchmark product in antibody-based RLT. TLX591 is used to treat metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and has achieved a median overall survival of 42.3 months. It employs a two-dose simplified administration regimen, significantly reducing cumulative radiation exposure, minimizing off-target side effects, and maintaining manageable adverse reactions such as renal toxicity, dry mouth, and dry eyes. Currently, Part 1 of the global Phase III ProstACT study for TLX591 has been completed, achieving its primary safety and dosimetry endpoints without identifying any new safety signals.Laying a solid foundation for the clinical application of antibody-based RLT.

Building on this, Dr. Xue Ming Qian further pointed out that although antibodies show good clinical potential as RLT carriers, they still face challenges such as high liver and spleen uptake and an overly long half-life in vivo. How to optimize in vivo distribution while enhancing tumor targeting has become an important research direction in this field.

Focusing on this key issue, Dr. Xue Ming Qian introduced explorations using Transcenta's self-developed CLDN18.2 monoclonal antibody as a ligand to develop RLT. The CLDN18.2 target is restricted in expression in normal differentiated gastric epithelial cells but shows abnormally high expression in various solid tumors, with low overlap with targets like HER2, FGFR2, and PD-L1, offering excellent tumor selectivity.On this basis, conventional IgG antibodies were significantly optimized by Fc engineering to reduce liver and spleen retention, combined with site-specific conjugation technology, showing superior stability and tumor-specific uptake in both in vitro and animal experiments, with significantly reduced liver and spleen uptake, demonstrating good in vivo imaging and targeting capabilities.

The site-specific conjugated CLDN18.2 antibody 89Zr probe showed good stability and tumor-specific uptake in vivo, with significantly reduced non-target tissue uptake in the liver and spleen, supporting its application value in pre-treatment screening and post-treatment monitoring. In efficacy validation, the site-specific conjugated CLDN18.2-177Lu RLT demonstrated dose-dependent killing of CLDN18.2-positive tumor cells in vitro; in animal models, high doses completely eradicated tumors without recurrence, medium doses significantly inhibited tumor growth and extended survival, while showing no adverse effects on mouse body weight, highlighting the potential of antibody-based RLT in efficacy and safety.

In his summary, Dr. Xue Ming Qian emphasized that fully engineered full-length monoclonal antibodies are ideal ligands for developing RLT. Through key technologies such as Fc engineering, site-specific conjugation, and half-life modulation, the in vivo distribution and pharmacokinetic characteristics of antibodies can be systematically optimized, thereby improving tumor targeting and reducing non-specific uptake.Based on the fully engineered antibody CLDN18.2-targeting RLT, preclinical studies have validated its integrated 'diagnosis + treatment' potential, offering the possibility of closed-loop management from patient selection to efficacy monitoring, providing new therapeutic insights for CLDN18.2-positive solid tumors.

At the same time, this represents a specific application example of Transcenta’s cold conjugation technology platform for radiopharmaceutical development, which can systematically empower the efficient development of radiolabeled drugs. Based on this platform, similar strategies can be extended to other tumor targets in the future, further expanding the application space for integrated radiotheranostics in more solid tumors.

About Transcenta Group

Transcenta Group is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with comprehensive capabilities in biologic drug discovery, research and development, process development, and manufacturing.

Transcent Group is headquartered in Suzhou and has successfully established a global business presence: it operates drug discovery, clinical, and translational research centers in Suzhou, a process and product development center as well as a drug manufacturing base in Hangzhou, and clinical development centers in China, the United States, and Europe. Transcent Group is developing a diversified pipeline that includes dozens of novel biologics covering oncology and non-oncology indications, including orthopedics, autoimmune diseases, and kidney disorders.

For more information about Transcenta, please visit the company website: www.transcenta.com or LinkedIn profile: Transcenta. If you are interested in exploring capital partnership opportunities, please contact us via ir@transcenta.com to discuss potential collaborations.

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