Aarvik Therapeutics Announces Milestone Achievement, Partnership Update, and Presentations on MUTTA™ and AQUALINK™ Platforms at the 17th Annual WADC Conference

The Laurus agreement leaves Aarvik with all rights to the two licensed molecules outside India.

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HAYWARD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Aarvik Therapeutics (Aarvik), an innovative, ADC-focused biotechnology company dedicated to engineering precision medicines for cancer therapy, is pleased to announce important updates to its partnership efforts.

Dosing of the first patient in a Phase 1 trial in the US for AV-P138-ADC (ARR-002) was recently announced by Aarvik’s research collaboration partner, ArriVent Biopharma, Inc. (ArriVent; Nasdaq: AVBP). AV-P138-ADC (ARR-002) is the first MUTTA™-based ADC to reach clinical stage and constitutes a major milestone for Aarvik’s MUTTA™-based ADC platform. AV-P138-ADC, also known as ARR-002, was discovered by Aarvik as part of a research collaboration with ArriVent, who subsequently exclusively licensed the molecule and plans global development. AV-P138-ADC (ARR-002) is a novel, site-specifically-conjugated, MUC16/NaPi2b dual-target tetravalent ADC that may overcome the limitations of conventional single-target or bivalent bispecific ADCs to potentially provide a safer and more effective treatment option for a broad spectrum of ovarian and endometrial cancer patients. Preclinical data on this molecule were presented at the AACR meeting in April 2026¹.

Aarvik is pleased to announce a license agreement with Laurus Labs, a research-driven pharmaceutical and biotechnology company committed to improving global health. Under the terms of this agreement, Laurus Labs will obtain licenses for two MUTTA™ ADC molecules from Aarvik for development and commercialization in India. Aarvik will retain all rights to the ADC molecules outside India. Laurus Labs will apply its extensive capabilities in small molecule and biologics manufacturing as well as its commercialization expertise to rapidly advance the molecules to clinical validation. Together, Aarvik and Laurus Labs aspire to fulfil the needs of patients in India and globally with novel therapies.

“Following our investment in Aarvik’s Series Seed-2 round, we are delighted to work with Aarvik to accelerate select ADC molecules closer to reaching patients,” said Dr. Satyanarayana Chava, Founder & CEO of Laurus Labs. “We look forward to working together in complementary ways to bring novel and needed therapies to benefit oncology patients in India and around the globe.”

Aarvik researchers presented emerging scientific data on Aarvik’s MUTTA™ and AQUALINK™ platforms and rapidly-advancing portfolio of ADC assets at the recent 17^th Annual WADC Conference held in San Diego. Titles of the presentations are as follows:

AQUALINK™ Platform: Reducing Hydrophobicity of ADCs by Engineering Short Hydrophilic Linkers that use Simple Sugar-Based Spacers (Oral Presentation)

MUTTA™ ADC Platform: Engineering Novel Dual-Targeting ADCs With an Improved Therapeutic Window (Oral Presentation)

Dual-Targeting MUTTA™ platform for Developing Novel Multi-functional ADCs with an Improved Therapeutic Efficacy (Poster Presentation)

“The partnership advances and research updates reflect substantial progress by Aarvik in advancing its pipeline of ADC assets, and further validate Aarvik’s MUTTA™ and AQUALINK™ platforms,” said Jagath Reddy Junutula, PhD, Co-founder, President and CEO of Aarvik Therapeutics. “We are gratified to see the first MUTTA™-based ADC reach patients and look forward to advancing additional novel ADC therapies to clinical stage, including through our license agreement with Laurus. Our scientific presentations at the WADC conference showcase how Aarvik’s holistic approach to ADCs can address heterogeneous target expression and low copy number challenges in difficult-to-treat solid tumors and significantly improve the therapeutic index of ADCs”.

About Aarvik Therapeutics

Aarvik Therapeutics combines its unique, proprietary modular MUTTA™ (MUlti-epitope Targeting Tetravalent Antibody) and AQUALINK™ platforms with multiple target mechanisms to develop novel molecules with an improved therapeutic index for oncology targets. Aarvik Therapeutics is developing a pipeline of multi-functional ADCs across a breadth of solid and liquid tumors, and the first MUTTA™-based ADC has entered clinical stage. Backed by the extensive scientific, research, development and business expertise of its founders, Board, SAB and team members, Aarvik Therapeutics is applying its vision and passion to create transformational benefit for cancer patients.

For additional information, visit www.aarviktx.com.

¹ Bhakta S. et al., Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2026; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2026 Apr 17-22; San Diego, CA. AACR; Cancer Res 2026;86(7 Suppl):Abstract nr 2660.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261102671253/en/

Media Contact
Reva Raghupathi, PhD, MBA
Email: contact@aarviktx.com

Investor Contact
Pradeep Fernandes
Email: contact@aarviktx.com

Source: Aarvik Therapeutics

Key Terms

adc medical

An antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) is a targeted cancer medicine that pairs an antibody that recognizes specific markers on tumor cells with a potent cell-killing drug, connected so the toxic payload is delivered directly to the cancer. For investors, ADCs matter because successful ADCs can improve patient outcomes and reduce side effects compared with traditional chemotherapy, shaping clinical trial success, regulatory approval chances, commercial demand, and a company’s valuation much like a guided missile versus a general bomb.

site-specifically-conjugated technical

A chemical or enzymatic method that attaches a drug, fluorescent tag, or other molecule to a specific, predefined site on a protein or other biomolecule so every product molecule has the payload in the same position. Unlike random conjugation, which links payloads to many possible amino acids, site-specific conjugation uses a chosen residue or engineered tag (for example a defined cysteine, enzyme recognition sequence, or non-natural amino acid) and a compatible chemistry to produce a homogeneous product with consistent stoichiometry and preserved activity of the carrier molecule.

hydrophilic linkers technical

Hydrophilic linkers are water-attracting chemical chains used to connect two components in a biologic drug molecule (most commonly the antibody and the small‑molecule payload in an antibody–drug conjugate). They increase the combined molecule’s solubility and can reduce aggregation, alter how the molecule circulates in the bloodstream, and influence when and where the payload is released; hydrophilic linkers typically incorporate polar or charged groups (for example polyethylene glycol units or charged spacers) and are chosen to balance stability during circulation with the desired release mechanism at the target site.

therapeutic index medical

The therapeutic index is a measure of a drug’s safety margin—the gap between the dose that produces a desired effect and the dose that causes harmful effects. For investors, a larger therapeutic index means a wider safety cushion, lower risk of dangerous side effects, smoother regulatory review and broader market acceptance, all of which can reduce clinical and commercial risk and affect a drug developer’s valuation.