RE: HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT6 May 2026 10:17
The comparator pair is deliberate. Both are Daiichi DXd-platform ADCs, same exatecan-class payload as AVA6103, different antibody targets. So the comparison isolates one variable: FAP-trigger PDC vs antibody-mediated delivery. Picking both removes the "lucky comparator" objection and routes the message at Daiichi specifically, who has direct exposure to both.
A better third comparator would have been Trodelvy (Gilead). Different payload (SN-38), different linker, different owner. Beating it would generalise the platform argument beyond DXd and widen the partner aperture. Its absence is conspicuous. Most likely reason: the data exists but isn't favourable against SN-38's hydrolyzable-linker kinetics, or budget. Less likely: keeping the message Daiichi-focused
On the Daiichi read, the picture is more ambiguous than surface signalling suggests. A FAP-PDC is structurally complementary to their antibody-led DXd strategy and Daiichi has the PK expertise to actually evaluate the TSI claim. But public comparator publication is wrong tactics for bilateral exclusivity, if Daiichi were the genuine target, this would be shared under CDA, not in an RNS. The pattern fits multi-party process management with Daiichi as one of several audiences (alongside AZ separately, Gilead, Pfizer, Merck KGaA).
Bottom line: don't read the comparator pair as a Daiichi deal tell. Read it as a multi-party opener. The missing Trodelvy is the more telling detail