Araris Treats Its First Lymphoma Patient with Its Drug Candidate

(CONNECT) The European subsidiary based in Baar Taiho Oncology, a subsidiary of the Tokyo-based pharmaceutical company Taiho and the biotech company it acquired in March 2025 Araris, based in Au, has begun administering a drug to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. According to a press release, the first patient has now received a dose of the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), known in the study as ARC-02, as part of a recently initiated Phase 1 clinical trial. It targets the CD79b protein. Mutations in this gene play a role in the development of certain lymphomas and are therefore a key target for specific cancer therapies.

ARC-02 selectively binds to CD70b-positive B cells and delivers monomethyl auristatin E, a clinically validated anticancer drug, directly to the tumor cells. This is the first clinical candidate to be conjugated to an active ingredient using Araris's novel AraLinQ ADC platform and its proprietary Arastatin technology. It is designed to be released precisely within the cancer cell while minimizing damage to healthy tissue.

“The administration of ARC-02 to the first patient marks a crucial milestone for Araris, as we are now entering the clinical phase and beginning to translate our innovative ADC platform into potential benefits for patients,” Dr. Philipp Spycher is quoted as saying. He is the CSO and scientific founder of Araris, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute. “Although ARC-02 is initially being developed for hematologic malignancies,” said Dr. Isabella Attinger-Toller, CTO and co-founder of Araris. “However, the differentiated safety profile observed in preclinical studies could also support broader application in other indications, including autoimmune diseases.” 

This first application of the innovative Araris platform marks Taiho’s entry into the clinical development of ADCs for oncology, emphasises Harold Keer, Medical Director of Taiho Oncology: “We look forward to the results of this study and to advancing additional Araris compounds into the clinical phase.” ce/mm