Zymeworks Signs Roche Deal with $55 Million Upfront, Up to $718 Million in Milestones

06:49 AM EDT, 10/23/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Zymeworks (ZYME) said Friday it signed an exclusive global license and collaboration agreement with Roche for ZW209, a cancer drug targeting the DLL3 protein, with potential milestone payments of up to $718 million. Under the agreement, Zymeworks will receive $55 million upfront and a further $40 million upon initiation of the Phase 1b trial, the company said. Zymeworks is also eligible for tiered royalties on sales, rising from single digits to the mid-teens on future global net sales of approved medicines resulting from the collaboration, the company said. Roche will fund the Phase 1a monotherapy trial and take over later development and commercialization worldwide, while Zymeworks conducts the study with Roche, Zymeworks said. The US Food and Drug Administration has cleared the investigational new drug application for ZW209, while additional regulatory applications are planned to support clinical trial sites outside the US, Zymeworks said. The deal is subject to the end of the US antitrust waiting period and other customary closing conditions, it said.