MUC16 is the highest-expressing ADC target in ovarian cancer, at least two-fold higher than other emerging targets
MUC16 is highly and stably expressed in the most aggressive and most common subtypes of endometrial cancer
Findings support Whitehawk's development of MUC16-directed ADC, HWK-016, currently being explored in Phase 1 for advanced ovarian and endometrial cancers
MORRISTOWN, N.J., April 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Whitehawk Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHWK), a clinical-stage oncology therapeutics company applying advanced technologies to established tumor biology to efficiently deliver improved antibody drug conjugate (ADC) cancer treatments, today presented three posters from a real-world analysis supporting the therapeutic potential of targeting mucin 16 (MUC16) with a next-generation ADC for the treatment of ovarian and endometrial cancers at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2026 Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer, being held April 10-13, 2026, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
MUC16 is a cell-surface glycoprotein that promotes tumor cell proliferation, metastasis and immune evasion. MUC16 is overexpressed in multiple tumor types with limited expression in normal tissue. A large-scale RNA analysis demonstrated that MUC16 is highly and stably expressed across ovarian cancers and in the most aggressive and most common subtypes of endometrial cancer, including in later-stage disease, supporting its potential as a clinically meaningful ADC target and reinforcing the rationale for clinical development of HWK-016.