Zymeworks Presents New Phase 1 Data for Folate Receptor Alpha-Targeting Antibody-Drug Conjugate ZW191 at ESMO Congress 2026
Key Highlights
- ➤ZW191 cORR reached 64.5% at 6.4 mg/kg in high-grade serous PROC
- ➤ZW191 responses spanned FRα expression, with 55.0% cORR at low or negative levels
- ➤Six-month PFS was 61% at both doses; median response duration remained unreached
- ➤Grade 3+ treatment-related adverse events were 22% at 6.4 mg/kg versus 44% at 9.6 mg/kg
- ➤Zymeworks engaged MTS Healthcare to evaluate strategic partnering for ZW191 development
Expert Statements
Sabeen Mekan, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Zymeworks
“We are highly encouraged by these results, which further demonstrate the differentiated clinical profile of ZW191 and its potential to deliver meaningful benefit to patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer”
Sabeen Mekan, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Zymeworks
“The robust response rates observed at both doses, including meaningful activity in patients with low or negative FRα expression, reinforce the potential of ZW191 to benefit a broader patient population. Importantly, the encouraging durability of responses and favorable tolerability profile, particularly at 6.4 mg/kg, provide valuable insights to guide dose selection and the next stage of clinical development.”
Jung-Yun Lee, M.D., Ph.D., Yonsei Cancer Center and Severance Hospital; primary investigator
“These results are particularly promising for patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer who have exhausted available treatment options”
Jung-Yun Lee, M.D., Ph.D., Yonsei Cancer Center and Severance Hospital; primary investigator
“We observed substantial anti-tumor activity in patients who had received multiple prior therapies, including meaningful responses across high, intermediate and low or negative FRα expression levels. The encouraging durability of responses, together with the favorable safety profile observed at the lower dose, suggests ZW191 has the potential to become an important new treatment option for patients with this difficult-to-treat disease.”
* ZW191 demonstrates compelling anti-tumor activity in heavily pretreated patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer across folate receptor alpha (FRα) expression levels * Confirmed objective response rates (cORR) of 64.5% at the 6.4 mg/kg dose in patients with high-grade serous platinum-resistant ovarian cancer * Median duration of response not yet reached at either dose level at median 7 months follow-up, with six-month progression-free survival rate of 61% in both groups * Favorable tolerability profile, particularly at 6.4 mg/kg, supports continued clinical development in partnership or through a strategic collaboration * Conference call with Zymeworks management on October 27 at 8:30 am Eastern Time (ET) VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zymeworks Inc. (Nasdaq: ZYME), a biotechnology company managing a portfolio of licensed healthcare assets while developing a diverse pipeline of novel, multifunctional biotherapeutics, today presented new clinical data from the randomized dose-optimization portion of its ongoing Phase 1 study evaluating ZW191, a FRα-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2026 in Madrid, Spain.
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