Akari Therapeutics Forms Strategic Partnership With WuXi XDC To Accelerate Development Of Its Novel PH1 ADC Payload

Akari Therapeutics, Plc Akari Therapeutics, Plc, a biotechnology company focused on developing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) that use novel RNA-splicing-modulating payloads, announced a new strategic partnership with WuXi XDC WuXi XDC. This collaboration is aimed at accelerating the development of Akari’s innovative PH1 payload, a next-generation therapeutic component designed for use in ADCs.

Abizer Gaslightwala Abizer Gaslightwala, President and Chief Executive Officer of Akari Therapeutics, stated that the partnership marks an important milestone for the company. He explained that working with WuXi XDC—one of the leading organizations in ADC development—provides strong validation for Akari’s PH1 payload technology. He added that this collaboration will help the company move more quickly toward advancing PH1 within AKTX-101, Akari’s lead program, as it progresses toward future clinical development.

Jimmy Li, Ph.D. Jimmy Li, Chief Executive Officer of WuXi XDC, expressed that the company is pleased to work with Akari to develop the PH1 payload further. He highlighted WuXi XDC’s track record in advancing novel ADC payloads and emphasized their commitment to staying at the forefront of ADC innovation. 

He also noted that RNA splicing modulators like PH1 represent a new direction for ADC therapies and that Akari’s platform shows strong potential for both its lead program and additional ADC candidates. According to him, there is a growing need for new ADC payload technologies to improve upon existing cancer treatments, and WuXi XDC aims to support this progress through partnerships like this one.

Akari’s lead drug candidate, AKTX-101, is being developed initially for metastatic urothelial cancer, an area where patients often face limited treatment options after first-line therapies stop working. Many patients receive only standard chemotherapy in the second-line setting, which typically provides limited benefit. Akari believes AKTX-101, driven by its PH1 payload, could offer a more promising therapeutic approach for these individuals while also highlighting the broader potential of the PH1 platform.

AKTX-101 incorporates Akari’s proprietary PH1 payload, which is designed to act as a spliceosome modulator. This means it disrupts RNA splicing within cancer cells—a mechanism that differs significantly from traditional ADC payloads such as microtubule inhibitors or DNA-damaging agents. PH1 is intended not only to kill cancer cells directly but also to activate both innate and adaptive immune responses against tumors. 

In preclinical research, AKTX-101 has shown strong anti-tumor activity, including greater tumor regression and complete remissions compared with other ADCs tested. Akari views these findings as evidence that PH1 may contribute to a new generation of ADC payload innovation focused on substantially improving the therapeutic capabilities of these treatments.

The company is preparing to advance AKTX-101 into a Phase 1 clinical trial, which is expected to begin in late 2026 or early 2027, pending regulatory approval. Moving into clinical evaluation represents a major step for Akari as it continues to develop therapies using novel payload technologies designed to offer better outcomes for cancer patients.