Shares of Innocare (09969) surged more than 9% during intraday trading. At the time of writing, the stock was up 6.42% to HK$13.92, with a turnover of HK$542.69 million.

On July 6th, the company announced via its official channels that the first patient has been dosed with its novel, in-house developed CDH17-targeting ADC drug, ICP-B208. Developed using Innocare's proprietary ADC technology platform, ICP-B208 consists of a humanized anti-CDH17 antibody conjugated via a protease-cleavable linker to a potent payload also developed internally by the company. This design enables precise targeting of tumor cells while aiming to minimize off-target effects.

It was noted that CDH17, a member of the cadherin family, plays a critical role in tumor cell proliferation, migration, and metastasis. It exhibits specific high expression in various gastrointestinal solid tumors, including colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and biliary tract cancers. As a result, CDH17 has emerged as a highly promising novel target in the global ADC field. Currently, there are no approved CDH17-targeting ADC drugs available worldwide.