--- title: "Daiichi Sankyo's ADC engine grows fast but leans on Enhertu" url: "https://aibio.space/companies/daiichi-sankyo/desk-view/" publisher: "aibio.space (Biotech Investor Relations News)" date: "2026-10-31" tickers: "TSE:4568" summary: "First-quarter revenue rose 21.1% and guidance went up. The I-DXd withdrawal and a JPY 75.7 billion supply charge show the risks in lung cancer and capacity…" --- Opinion Desk view by the aibio.space Daiichi desk. Updated October 22, 2026. Every figure links to its source. This is analysis, not a recommendation to trade. [How desk views are written](https://aibio.space/disclosures/). Daiichi Sankyo Company · Opinion 2026-10-22 # Daiichi Sankyo's ADC engine grows fast but leans on Enhertu First-quarter revenue rose 21.1% and guidance went up. The I-DXd withdrawal and a JPY 75.7 billion supply charge show the risks in lung cancer and capacity planning. Daiichi Sankyo has become an oncology company built on one platform. Its DXd antibody-drug conjugates, led by Enhertu and Datroway, drove first-quarter revenue [up 21.1% to JPY 574.7 billion](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/news/pressrelease/pdf/202607/20260731_E4.pdf). The company's [five-year plan](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/news/pressrelease/pdf/202605/20260511_E1.pdf) targets more than JPY 3 trillion of revenue in fiscal 2030 and a place among the top five oncology companies by 2035. ## The technology The DXd platform links an antibody to a topoisomerase I inhibitor payload. Enhertu targets HER2 and is co-developed with AstraZeneca. In 2026 it won [two US early breast cancer approvals](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/news/pressrelease/pdf/202605/20260516_E.pdf) and positive first-line data in HER2-mutant lung cancer, where [DESTINY-Lung04](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/news/pressrelease/pdf/202609/20260914_E.pdf) extended median progression-free survival to 14.3 months from 8.3 months. Datroway targets TROP2 and was approved in the US for [first-line triple-negative breast cancer](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/news/pressrelease/pdf/202605/20260522_E3.pdf) on survival data. Behind them are I-DXd (B7-H3, partnered with Merck), raludotatug deruxtecan in ovarian cancer and newer programs such as the CD25-directed DS1025, all listed in the [ESMO 2026 announcement](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/news/pressrelease/pdf/202610/20261022_E2.pdf). Daiichi also plans combination work, including a [Datroway and ivonescimab](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/news/pressrelease/pdf/202610/20261002_E.pdf) collaboration with AstraZeneca and Summit Therapeutics. Enhertu carries [boxed warnings](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/news/pressrelease/pdf/202605/20260516_E.pdf) for interstitial lung disease and embryo-fetal toxicity, and the label now covers earlier, curative-intent disease where tolerability weighs more heavily. ## The odds The platform has a strong record in breast cancer. Lung is harder. The I-DXd US filing in small cell lung cancer was [withdrawn on September 25](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/news/pressrelease/pdf/202609/20260925_E.pdf) after the FDA said phase 2 data did not support accelerated approval, and DESTINY-Lung04 showed no overall survival benefit at 46.9% maturity. For phase III programs such as IDeate-Lung02, the [BIO/Informa/QLS 2011-2020 base rate](https://go.bio.org/rs/490-EHZ-999/images/ClinicalDevelopmentSuccessRates2011_2020.pdf) is 57.8% from phase III to filing and 90.6% from filing to approval. ADCs with established payloads and targets probably beat that average, but the I-DXd experience shows that response-rate data can fall short with the FDA. ## The money Daiichi is profitable. Cash and cash equivalents were [JPY 637.9 billion at June 30](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/investors/library/quarterly_result/2026/FY2026Q1_Financial_Results_E.pdf), and non-current bonds and borrowings were JPY 500.0 billion after a JPY 200 billion issue in the quarter. The company also [transferred 30% of its consumer health unit](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/investors/library/quarterly_result/2026/FY2026Q1_Financial_Results_E.pdf) to Suntory on July 1 for JPY 73.95 billion, with further transfers of 40% in June 2027 and the remaining 30% in June 2029. The five-year plan also calls for more than JPY 200 billion of [cost and profit improvements](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/news/pressrelease/pdf/202605/20260511_E1.pdf) by 2030. Full-year guidance calls for [JPY 2.34 trillion of revenue and JPY 320.0 billion of operating profit](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/news/pressrelease/pdf/202607/20260731_E4.pdf). ## The risks Concentration comes first. Enhertu was JPY 239.8 billion of first-quarter revenue, about 42%, and it is co-developed and co-sold with AstraZeneca. Manufacturing commitments are the second. Daiichi booked a [JPY 75.7 billion CMO provision](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/news/pressrelease/pdf/202605/20260508_E.pdf) after demand forecasts fell, and said it has made no provision for the medium- and long-term gap against minimum purchase obligations. Accounting quality is the third: the company corrected an [SG&A aggregation error](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/news/pressrelease/pdf/202607/20260731_E4.pdf) in its fiscal 2025 results. ## Our read Daiichi's breast cancer franchise is working, and the 2026 approvals widen it into earlier disease. The plan to reach JPY 3 trillion depends on lung cancer and newer ADCs, where 2026 brought both a win and a setback. The supply loss is the best guide to the risk. When trials narrow populations, Daiichi pays twice: in lost revenue and in contract commitments. The ESMO congress from [October 23 to 27](https://www.daiichisankyo.com/files/investors/library/quarterly_result/2026/FY2026Q1_Financial_Results_Presentation_E.pdf) and the AVANZAR readout in the second half of calendar 2026 are the next tests. --- Source page: https://aibio.space/companies/daiichi-sankyo/desk-view/. Facts in aibio.space stories are checked against company filings and releases; opinion is labelled. Cite as: aibio.space, "Daiichi Sankyo's ADC engine grows fast but leans on Enhertu", 2026-10-31, https://aibio.space/companies/daiichi-sankyo/desk-view/