NextCure, Simcere Zaiming announce strategic partnership

NextCure (NXTC) and Simcere Zaiming, an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company and a subsidiary of Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, announced a strategic partnership to develop SIM0505, a novel antibody-drug conjugate, ADC, targeting CDH6 for the treatment of solid tumors. SIM0505 is currently in Phase 1 clinical testing in China; NextCure expects to begin clinical testing in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2025. SIM0505 is currently in Phase 1 dose escalation studies in China. A global dose expansion study is expected following the dose escalation portion of the study to include multiple tumor types. An Investigational New Drug application has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The partnership also includes a license for NextCure to access Simcere Zaiming’s proprietary linker and TOPOi payload for a preclinical-stage novel target ADC developed by NextCure. Simcere Zaiming will have Greater China rights to this additional novel target ADC.