Hangzhou, China, May 22, 2026--Following the closing of trading on the New York Stock Market, Whitehawk Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: WHWK) announced a newly reached strategic agreement with Hangzhou DAC Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (“DAC Biotech”)（https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/whitehawk-therapeutics-expands-adc-pipeline-with-new-option-agreement-for-use-of-cpt113-linker-payload-302779285.html）. Under the deal, Whitehawk will develop up to five innovative ADC candidates leveraging DAC Biotech’s proprietary CPT113 payload-linker and CrossConju™ site-specific conjugation technology. DAC Biotech is entitled to substantial milestone payments and sales royalties under future product licensing arrangements.
This marks another collaboration between the two parties after a tripartite partnership established in December 2024 involving WuXi Biologics and Aadi Therapeutics, the predecessor of Whitehawk. Previously, DAC Biotech granted global rights to three CPT113-based ADC candidates to Whitehawk via WuXi Biologics. All three candidates adopt the company’s self-developed Topo1 inhibitor payload-linker CPT113 and CrossConju™ site-specific conjugation technology. Two candidates have advanced into clinical trials, with the third poised to enter clinical development.
The newly inked agreement further underscores Whitehawk’s high recognition of DAC Biotech’s CPT113 platform and CrossConju™ conjugation technology.DAC Biotech has accumulated rich expertise through in-depth technical cooperation with renowned pharmaceutical enterprises worldwide. Its CrossConju™ technology and Topo1 inhibitor payload-linker represented by CPT113 have been applied and clinically validated in multiple partnered and in-house ADC pipelines. While expanding external collaborations, the company will accelerate clinical progress of its proprietary pipelines to address unmet medical needs and deliver superior therapeutic options for patients globally.
About Hangzhou DAC Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
Founded in late 2012 in Hangzhou, DAC Biotech boasts over 30 ADC candidates at diverse research and development stages. With more than a decade of technological accumulation, DAC Biotech has built an ADC platform with independent intellectual property rights, covering the full industrial chain from early-stage research, process development to commercial manufacturing. It has filed over 700 patent applications across more than 30 countries and regions, among which 35 patents have been granted in the United States.
About CPT113
The CPT113 platform is a next-generation payload-linker system developed in-house by DAC Biotech, combining self-designed camptothecin analog CPT116 and CrossConju™ conjugation technology. It has demonstrated robust development potential across various ADC programs. At the recently concluded 2026 AACR Annual Meeting, JNJ presented EGFR/cMET bispecific ADC JNJ-95437446, while Whitehawk Therapeutics unveiled three ADC assets HWK-007, HWK-016 and HWK-206. All aforementioned products adopt DAC Biotech’s CPT113 and CrossConju™ technological platforms.
