NuCana plc ADR Dossier
Qualitative Analysis
Business overview
NuCana plc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on significantly improving treatment outcomes for cancer patients. The company utilizes its proprietary ProTide technology platform to transform widely prescribed chemotherapy agents, specifically nucleoside analogs, into more effective and safer medicines. By overcoming key cancer resistance mechanisms and generating much higher concentrations of active anti-cancer metabolites directly inside cancer cells, NuCana aims to establish a new standard of care in oncology. The company's lead clinical pipeline is spearheaded by NUC-7738, a novel anti-cancer agent that disrupts RNA polyadenylation and targets the tumor microenvironment, and NUC-3373, a targeted thymidylate synthase inhibitor.
Research as of 20 Jun 2026
Strategic Initiatives
Growth programs, investments, and their expected impact
Advancing the clinical development of lead candidate NUC-7738, a novel ProTide designed to disrupt RNA polyadenylation, specifically focusing on its combination with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for patients with PD-1 inhibitor-resistant metastatic melanoma.
Expected impact: Aims to establish a highly effective and tolerable therapeutic option for patients who have failed standard immunotherapy, potentially paving the way for a registrational trial.
Evaluating and characterizing the optimal combination regimens and target indications for NUC-3373, a proprietary ProTide of 5-fluorouracil, following encouraging signals in colorectal and lung cancer studies.
Expected impact: Aims to overcome key pharmacological limitations and resistance mechanisms associated with traditional thymidylate synthase inhibitors.
Implementing a 1:100 sub-division of existing ordinary shares to create new ordinary shares with a lower nominal value alongside a class of non-voting deferred shares.
Expected impact: Restructures the capital base to allow the company to issue new American Depositary Shares (ADSs) and raise future equity capital despite low market trading prices.
Mergers, Acquisitions & Partnerships
Recent deals and strategic collaborations
Strategic Partnerships
Merck provides its anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for use in combination with NuCana's NUC-7738 in the Phase 1/2 NuTide:701 clinical trial targeting PD-1 inhibitor-resistant metastatic melanoma.
Terms: Under the collaboration, Merck supplies pembrolizumab, while NuCana maintains global commercial rights to NUC-7738.