Biotechnology company ADC Therapeutics is to launch a new research centre in Imperial’s White City Campus to develop next-generation cancer drugs.

ThinkSpace, an Imperial subsidiary that offers facilities and co-location opportunities to high-tech companies, has announced that it will open a new state-of-the-art antibody drug conjugate (ADC) research centre for ADC Therapeutics SA in the Translation & Innovation Hub (I-HUB) at Imperial College’s White City Campus in West London.

The research centre, which will include chemistry and biology labs and office space, is expected to open in the summer of 2021. The company will use it to further develop a next-generation technology for treating certain kinds of cancer that works by attaching anti-cancer drugs to antibodies.

“ADC Therapeutics’ new ADC research centre is an exciting addition to our collaborative I-HUB in White City: the emerging life science centre for London,” said John Anderson, Director of Financial Strategy for Imperial College London and Executive Chair of Imperial College ThinkSpace. “The company has clearly made impressive progress in the research and development of next-generation ADCs for multiple types of cancer. We are pleased that this new research centre, in our I-HUB, will enable further pipeline innovation in their quest to pursue new treatment options for patients with cancer.”

Innovation campus

The new campus at White City is continuing to be developed to bring together academia, business and the local community to innovate and collaborate in new ways. At White City, Imperial is building a modern campus that sustains a unique innovation ecosystem, powered by science and technology, that makes a difference locally and globally. Situated in one of London’s most rapidly changing neighbourhoods, the White City Campus is a major investment of over 23 acres and represents a new model for university campus development and community collaboration.

Next-generation therapeutics

ADC Therapeutics is a late clinical-stage oncology-focused biotechnology company pioneering the development and commercialisation of highly potent and targeted antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) for patients with hematological malignancies and solid tumors. The company develops ADCs using next-generation pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) technology to which ADC Therapeutics has proprietary rights for its targets. 

ADC Therapeutics’ London-based research team has developed a robust pipeline of next-generation ADCs, ranging from first in human to confirmatory Phase 3 clinical trials, in the USA and Europe, and numerous preclinical ADCs in development.