Roche bets up to $813M on Zymeworks’ lung cancer trispecific T cell engager

News Business Deals Roche bets up to $813M on Zymeworks’ lung cancer trispecific T cell engager October 23, 2026 | 2 min read | Tristan Manalac Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email Print Roche will pay Zymeworks $55 million upfront plus another $40 million once the partnership asset enters Phase 1b development and up to $718 million in additional milestones. Roche is fronting $55 million for an exclusive global license to Zymeworks’ trispecific T cell engager, which the pharma plans to develop for lung cancer.On top of its upfront commitment, Roche could be on the hook for $40 million once the asset, dubbed ZW209, starts Phase 1b testing, and up to $718 million in development, commercial and sales milestones. Zymeworks is also entitled to high-single-digit to mid-teen royalties on future net sales, according to a news release Friday morning.ZW209 is a preclinical trispecific therapy designed to target the DLL3 protein, typically overexpressed on tumor cells.

ZW209 also engages CD3 and CD28, both found on T cells, in turn enhancing the immune system’s anti-cancer response. ZW209’s mechanism also avoids the unintended activation of T cells, Zymeworks claims on its website. “ZW209 represents an innovative approach that complements our ongoing efforts to develop new treatment options for people living with lung cancer,” Boris Zaïtra, head of Corporate Business Development at Roche, said in a prepared statement.The asset has received the necessary regulatory clearances to start clinical testing and has entered Phase 1a testing, according to the Friday announcement.

The study is designed to assess ZW209’s safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics, as well as its early efficacy in patients with advanced solid tumors, such as small cell lung cancer and DLL3-expressing neuroendocrine tumors.Under the terms of the agreement, Zymeworks will be responsible for running the Phase 1a trial of ZW209 monotherapy in collaboration with Roche, with the pharma providing funding for the study, as per the Friday announcement. Roche will take charge of subsequent global development, regulatory activities and commercialization.The Roche agreement validates Zymeworks’ royalty-based approach to dealmaking, Leerink Partners said in a Friday morning note. “Monetize internal innovation, shift development costs to partners and retain participation in future commercial upside,” the analysts said, explaining Zymeworks’ model.

As an example, they pointed to the biotech’s 2022 partnership with Jazz Pharmaceuticals for the bispecific antibody Ziihera, indicated for gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma and biliary tract cancer. Zymeworks also has a royalty-driven partnership with Johnson & Johnson, signed in 2017, for six bispecific antibodies against targets of the pharma’s choosing. In April, Zymeworks lost a colossal collaborator when Bristol Myers Squibb axed the final asset under the legacy alliance between Zymeworks and Celgene.

BMS acquired Celgene for $74 billion in 2019.Friday’s agreement “reinforces our view that ZYME is building a repeatable, diversified business rather than relying on a single asset,” Leerink said.The Roche deal also comes months after Zymeworks in June acquired Theravance Biopharma for approximately $929 million, gaining the commercial chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder drug Yupelri. Commercialized in the U.S. in partnership with Viatris, Yupelri made $266.6 million in the country last year.For Roche, Thursday’s partnership with Zymeworks continues a series of deals signed this month, including an antibody-drug conjugate agreement with Hansoh Pharmaceutical worth potentially more than $15 billion, the $1 billion-plus RNA interference gamble with Rona Therapeutics and up to $1.2 billion blood-brain barrier bet with Alector.

Deals Roche returns to Hansoh with broad $15B ADC deal Roche is offering $400 million upfront and over $15 billion in biobucks to team up with Hansoh Pharmaceutical in hopes of developing a portfolio of new antibody-drug conjugates using the latter’s in-house tech. October 19, 2026 · 1 min read · Gabrielle Masson Read more Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email Print Lung cancer Roche Zymeworks, Inc. Tristan Manalac Tristan is BioSpace‘s senior staff writer.

Based in Metro Manila, Tristan has more than eight years of experience writing about medicine, biotech and science. He can be reached at tristan.manalac@biospace.com, tristan@tristanmanalac.com or on LinkedIn.