Whitehawk Therapeutics Debuts New Identity, Advances ADC Portfolio

19 March 2025 | Wednesday | News

With a renewed focus on advancing its ADC pipeline for lung and ovarian cancers, Whitehawk Therapeutics aims to bring three assets to IND within the next 15 months, marking a new era in oncology innovation.
Picture Courtesy | Public Domain

Picture Courtesy | Public Domain

Whitehawk Therapeutics, Inc. formerly known as Aadi Bioscience, Inc., an oncology therapeutics company applying advanced technologies to established tumor biology to efficiently deliver improved cancer treatments, today announced it changed its name to Whitehawk Therapeutics, reflecting the Company's evolution and focus on accelerating its portfolio of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) with speed, agility and precision. The Company's common stock will begin trading under the ticker "WHWK" effective March 19, 2025.

The three assets in the portfolio are in-licensed from WuXi Biologics and utilize HANGZHOU DAC's advanced ADC technology platform, which consists of a highly stable yet cleavable linker that delivers a Topoisomerase I (TOPO1) inhibitor payload. The platform is coupled with clinically validated tumor targets that are upregulated in high-potential cancer indications, including lung and ovarian. These assets are engineered to produce minimal off-target toxicity, with a higher therapeutic index and greater stability than first-generation predecessors.

"Today marks a transformative moment as we reintroduce ourselves as Whitehawk Therapeutics – a focused oncology company combining science, strategy and execution to swiftly advance our portfolio of promising ADC assets," said David Lennon, President and CEO, Whitehawk Therapeutics. "By leveraging the foundation of well-established tumor biology and integrating cutting-edge technologies, our strategy is designed to address the challenges of treating the most difficult cancers efficiently and effectively. Our goal is to bring all three assets to IND in the next 15 months. Importantly, we believe our robust balance sheet will enable us to see these three assets through early clinical inflections. We are invigorated by the opportunity we have to overcome the limitations of first-generation ADCs to make a meaningful impact for patients."

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