TheTechno Optimist.

EnhertuDaiichi Sankyo—Enhertu plus pertuzumab approved in the US as first-line treatment for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancerDatrowayDaiichi Sankyo—Datroway approved in the US for first-line triple-negative breast cancer after extending survivalEnhertuDaiichi Sankyo—FDA approves Enhertu for early HER2-positive breast cancer, both before and after surgery

Daiichi Sankyo

Antibody-drug conjugates, Enhertu, Datroway, DXd

JPpublicdaiichisankyo.com (opens daiichisankyo.com)Checked 11 Oct

The brief

Analyst view
  • Enhertu is approved in 90+ countries for HER2-positive breast cancer and now used from early disease to first-line metastatic.
  • Datroway won a survival benefit in first-line triple-negative breast cancer; US approval May 2026.
  • AstraZeneca partnerships: Enhertu since March 2019, Datroway since July 2020; Daiichi keeps Japan and makes the drugs.

Technical approach

As reported
DXd platform

Antibody + cleavable linker + payload

An antibody carries a potent chemotherapy (DXd, a topoisomerase I poison) on a linker cut only inside cells.

Heavy loading

Many payloads per antibody

Each antibody carries several DXd molecules, delivering far more drug per tumour cell than older conjugates.

Spill-over

Kills neighbouring cells too

Released payload can cross into nearby cancer cells, which helps when the target is patchy (HER2-low tumours).

Primer