Top 5 Companies Developing Peptide Drug Conjugate

Published: July 2026

Peptide-drug-conjugates (PDC) represent a significant advancement in oncology precision medicine industry, leveraging highly specific peptides to deliver potent payloads, such as chemotherapy agents or toxins, directly to cancer cells via simple systemic administration. This targeted approach exploits tumor-specific receptors, minimizing off-target toxicity and enhancing therapeutic efficacy compared to traditional antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

PDCs address key challenges of conventional chemotherapies, such as poor selectivity, systemic side effects, and limited tumor penetration. This has attracted new startups, driven by rapid advancements in peptide engineering, linker technologies, and substantial investor interest in next-generation targeted oncology therapeutics. Over recent years, several new PDC developers have entered the market, focusing on innovative conjugates to meet unmet needs in solid tumor treatment and precision oncology.

Roots Analysis has conducted an exhaustive study on Next Generation Drug Conjugates Market featuring the current market landscape and future opportunities for companies engaged in healthcare, over a span of next 9 years.

Top Five Companies Developing Peptide-drug-conjugates

Bicycle Therapeutics
Shanghai Best-Link Bioscience
Angiochem
Avacta Therapeutics
Cybrexa Therapeutics

Top 5 Companies to Watch Developing Peptide Drug Conjugates

Interested in exploring all ~55 players offering next generation drug conjugates, along with their recent initiatives?

Discover Below the Details on Top 5 Companies Developing Peptide-drug-conjugates

Let us dive deep into the details of the top 5 companies developing Peptide-drug-conjugates. It is essential to note that the selection of top players can differ substantially according to the defined criteria.

1. Bicycle Therapeutics

Company Overview

Bicycle Therapeutics is a clinical stage biotech company that develops small, peptide based drugs using its proprietary Bicycle platform. The company designs bicyclic peptides that bind tightly to disease targets, combine features of both small molecules and biologics, and can be linked to drug payloads or other molecules. These bicycle molecules are designed to reach tumors and diseased tissues quickly, enabling precise targeting and supporting the development of targeted therapies, including peptide based drug conjugates, for cancer and other serious diseases.

Bicycle Therapeutics: Company Overview

	Company Name	Year of Establishment	Headquarters	Number of Employees
	Bicycle Therapeutics	2009	UK	201-500

Recent Developments

In April 2026, Bicycle Therapeutics presented at the ASCO 2026 Annual Meeting, highlighting clinical data from its Bicycle®-toxin conjugate pipeline, including updated results for zelenectide pevedotin (BT8009), a peptide-drug-conjugate targeting Nectin 4 expressing solid tumor. This activity supports the company’s strategy to advance zelenectide pevedotin as a best-in-class peptide-drug-conjugates for metastatic urothelial carcinoma and other Nectin-4-positive cancers, potentially accelerating its path toward regulatory approval and broader clinical use.

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2. Shanghai Best-Link Bioscience

Company Overview

Shanghai Best Link Bioscience is a clinical stage biotech company developing next generation nano conjugate drugs for solid tumors. The company has pioneered the “Nano Train Conjugate Drugs” concept. The company has a proprietary platform, named NMPDC®, which uses nanotechnology enabled conjugation to improve tumor delivery and deep intratumoral penetration by precisely controlling particle size, charge, and release timing within the tumor microenvironment.

Shanghai Best-Link Bioscience: Company Overview

	Company Name	Year of Establishment	Headquarters
	Shanghai Best-Link Bioscience	2021	China

To know more about Shanghai Best Link Bioscience and other companies developing peptide-drug-conjugates, access full report.

3. Angiochem

Company Overview

Angiochem, headquartered in Montreal, Canada and founded in 2003, is a clinical stage biotech company developing Peptide-drug-conjugates that use the LRP 1 pathway to cross the blood-brain barrier and treat neurological diseases. Its pipeline includes candidates such as ANG1005 and ANG4043 for brain tumors and brain metastases, as well as programs in lysosomal storage diseases and CNS related pain, aiming to address major unmet needs in primary brain cancer and other CNS disorders.

Angiochem: Company Overview

	Company Name	Year of Establishment	Headquarters	Number of Employees
	Angiochem	2003	Canada	11-50

To know more about Angiochem and other companies developing peptide-drug-conjugates, access full report.

4. Avacta Therapeutics

Company Overview

Avacta Therapeutics is a biotechnology company, advancing a proprietary pre|CISION® drug delivery platform that activates cancer drugs selectively in tumors. This technology links peptide to an existing oncology drug, inactivating it in the bloodstream and releasing the active drug only when cleaved by fibroblast activation protein (FAP) in the tumor microenvironment. This approach aims to specifically target the tumor site while reducing systemic toxicity, improving the balance between efficacy and patient safety.

Avacta Therapeutics: Company Overview

	Company Name	Year of Establishment	Headquarters	Number of Employees
	Avacta Therapeutics	2012	UK	51-200

Recent Developments

In April 2026, Avacta Therapeutics presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, highlighting the favorable therapeutic profile of AVA6103, a next generation peptide-drug-conjugate (PDC).

To know more about the recent initiatives of Avacta Therapeutics and other companies developing peptide-drug-conjugates, access full report.

5. Cybrexa Therapeutics

Company Overview

Cybrexa Therapeutics is a pioneering oncology-focused platform developer specializing in developing antigen-independent cancer treatments that target the acidic tumor microenvironment. Using its proprietary alphalex™ technology, the company delivers potent agents directly into tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue, bypassing the limitations of traditional antibody-drug conjugates. Within this framework, Cybrexa is advancing a portfolio of peptide-drug conjugates (including its lead clinical candidate, named CBX-12).

Cybrexa Therapeutics: Company Overview

	Company Name	Year of Establishment	Headquarters	Number of Employees
	Cybrexa Therapeutics	2017	US	11-50

To know more about Cybrexa Therapeutics and other companies developing peptide-drug-conjugates, access full report.

What About Other Companies Developing Peptide-drug-conjugates Around the World?

The above article features the top five Peptide-drug-conjugates companies selected from a pool of around 55 companies that we have compiled. If you're interested, you can download the Sample Report on this topic by Roots Analysis. For personalized assistance in identifying the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at sales@rootsanalysis.com.

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