Sinolink: Chinese innovative drugs make debuts to become a frontier focus in lung cancer; ADC treatment lines continue to move earlier

Sinolink released a research report stating that as data on multiple Chinese innovative drugs are released intensively, and clinical data in fields such as PD-1 PLUS bispecific antibodies, ADCs, and targeted therapies reach internationally leading levels, attracting considerable attention, this may boost a new round of overseas expansion opportunities for innovative drugs. The bank continues to focus on next-generation therapies with pan-cancer potential, chronic disease drugs addressing unmet clinical needs, and investment opportunities in tracks such as ADCs, bispecific/multispecific antibodies, and small nucleic acids. Sinolink's main views are as follows: The 2026 WCLC conference is held, with Chinese innovative drugs making intensive appearances to become the focus of global frontier lung cancer R&D The 2026 WCLC was held in Seoul, South Korea, from September 12 to 15. As one of the most influential annual academic conferences in the global lung cancer field, this year's conference focused on key advances in areas such as advanced NSCLC, advanced driver gene-positive NSCLC, relapsed/refractory SCLC, and perioperative lung cancer. The number of Chinese companies selected for the conference and oral presentations continued to increase, with presentation content covering frontier regimens such as PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibodies, PD-L1/4-1BB bispecific antibodies, TROP2 ADC, B7-H3 ADC, and KRASG12D inhibitors, covering everything from early response signals to PFS/OS results from randomized controlled studies. Chinese new drugs are deeply participating in the definition of and competition around the next generation of global lung cancer treatment standards, and are expected to give rise to multiple global new drugs in the lung cancer field. IO2.0 evidence further matures, with Chinese bispecific antibodies challenging the first-line lung cancer treatment landscape At this year's WCLC conference, AKESO's ivonescimab was the first to achieve dual benefits in OS and PFS in a Phase III study (HARMONi-2 study) for first-line PD-L1-positive NSCLC, achieving head-to-head superiority over pembrolizumab, further validating the clinical value of PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibodies. In addition, the HARMONi study also supplemented evidence of survival benefit in the EGFR-TKI-resistant population. At the same time, multiple types of immunotherapy regimens such as Rilvegostomig, Opamtistomig, RC148, JS207, and Gotistobart brought positive clinical data. Lung cancer immunotherapy is evolving from single-target PD-(L)1 inhibition toward bispecific antibodies, multi-mechanism synergy, and refined population stratification. Chinese companies already possess globally leading clinical evidence reserves and industrialization capabilities in the IO2.0 track represented by PD-1/VEGF. ADC treatment lines continue to move earlier, and immune combination therapy and disease burden optimization may become the main line of subsequent iteration The positioning of ADCs in lung cancer is gradually moving from later-line validation toward frontline, combination, and perioperative exploration. At this year's WCLC conference, two B7-H3 ADCs, HANSOH PHARMA's Ris-Rez and MediLink Therapeutics' Tam-Pali, received the conference's highest-level plenary session presentations, achieving key Phase III clinical evidence for 2L SCLC; BNTX/DualityBio disclosed clinical data for Pumitamig+Elfe-D, bringing early clinical evidence in the IO2.0+ADC field and potentially providing an important direction for subsequent treatment iteration. As domestic B7-H3 ADC, TROP2 ADC, and EGFR ADC continue to demonstrate high response rates and preliminary durability across multiple settings in NSCLC and SCLC, they are leading a comprehensive upgrade and iteration against chemotherapy. Precision treatment continues to upgrade, with breakthroughs in multiple types of refractory/resistant mutations In the field of small-molecule targeted drugs, new evidence continues to emerge for populations with long-unmet clinical needs such as HER2 mutations, KRASG12D mutations, EGFR-TKI resistance, and EGFR exon20ins mutations, and the treatment frontier continues to expand. As data for next-generation targeted drugs shine brightly, breakthroughs in targeted drugs for areas such as RAS and EGFR are expected to reshape the treatment landscape for multiple refractory mutation-driven diseases. Risk warnings Risk of new drug R&D failure; risk of R&D progress falling below expectations; risk of drug price reductions.