On October 1, 2026 Whitehawk Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: WHWK), a clinical-stage oncology therapeutics company applying advanced technologies to established tumor biology to efficiently develop improved antibody drug conjugate (ADC) cancer treatments, reported the presentation of two real-world analyses supporting mucin 16 (MUC16) as a durable therapeutic target and potential prognostic biomarker in ovarian cancer. These data will be presented at the International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS) Annual Global Meeting taking place October 1-3, 2026, in Montreal, Canada.
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In tumor samples from patients with ovarian cancer, MUC16 expression remained high and largely stable following standard-of-care (SoC) treatments, including platinum and non-platinum chemotherapy, bevacizumab-containing regimens, PARP inhibitors and mirvetuximab soravtansine. Treatment-associated changes in MUC16 expression were consistently small, and MUC16 demonstrated less treatment-associated variation than several other ADC targets, including FRα, TROP2 and NaPi2b. These findings suggest MUC16 is a durable therapeutic target for ADCs across multiple lines of therapy, and support development strategies that include both combination approaches and treatment in relapsed disease.
"For an ADC target to have broad clinical utility in ovarian cancer, it’s important that it remains consistently expressed as patients move through multiple lines of therapy," said Margaret Dugan, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Whitehawk Therapeutics. "These findings suggest MUC16 is durable throughout the treatment continuum and support the exploration of HWK-016 both in combination with established therapies and in patients whose disease has progressed following prior treatment."
In a separate analysis of patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) – the most common histologic subtype accounting for approximately 70% of cases – high tumor MUC16 expression was prognostically associated with poor real-world overall survival (rwOS). This association remained statistically significant after adjustment for key clinical and molecular covariates and was also observed among patients who were treatment-naïve at first metastatic diagnosis.
"Ovarian cancer continues to be a difficult-to-treat disease with new therapeutic approaches urgently needed," said Robert L. Coleman, MD, Texas Oncology. "The observation that high MUC16 expression was independently associated with poorer real-world overall survival indicates it is an important marker of more aggressive disease biology, and supports the continued investigation of MUC16-directed ADCs in this disease."
Poster Details:
Title: Durable and Treatment-Agnostic MUC16 Expression in Ovarian Cancer Supports Targeted Antibody-Drug Conjugate Development
Poster: 950
Presenter: Kathleen N. Moore, MD, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Date & Time: E-Poster
Key Findings:
MUC16 expression remained largely stable following platinum and non-platinum chemotherapy, bevacizumab-containing regimens, PARP inhibitors and mirvetuximab soravtansine.
Findings suggest that the target may be suitable for MUC16-directed therapy after prior SoC treatment and in combination with standard early-line platinum-based treatment.
Stable MUC16 expression is also observed in paired tumor samples.
MUC16 demonstrated less treatment-associated variation than several late-stage ADC targets, including FRα, TROP2 and NaPi2b.
Title: High MUC16 Expression Is Associated With Poor Real-World Overall Survival in Patients With High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma
Poster: 519
Presenter: Robert L. Coleman, MD, Texas Oncology, The Woodlands, Texas
Date & Time: October 1, 2026, 2:35-2:40 ET
Key Findings:
MUC16 expression at metastatic diagnosis was prognostically associated with poor rwOS.
Results were similar in the treatment-naïve subpopulation.
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, BRCA mutation status and age at diagnosis were also independent prognostic factors of rwOS.
High circulating CA125 was also associated with poor prognosis in patients with heavily pretreated HGSOC.
HWK‑016 is a MUC16-directed, next-generation ADC targeting the non-shed extracellular domain that is being evaluated in an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with advanced ovarian and endometrial cancers (NCT07470853).
These analyses were conducted as part of a previously announced collaboration between Whitehawk and Tempus AI. The posters will be accessible on the Presentations page of the Investors & News section of the Company’s website at www.whitehawktx.com.
(Press release, Whitehawk Therapeutics, OCT 1, 2026, View Source [SID1234671227])