Zymeworks, Roche Enter Collaboration to Develop Experimental Lung Cancer Drug

By Connor Hart

Zymeworks inked a multimillion deal with Roche, under which the two drugmakers will collaborate on the development of a potential treatment for lung cancer.

Under the agreement, Zymeworks will receive an upfront payment of $55 million, as well as a $40 million payment tied to the initiation of a phase 1b trial, the company said Friday.

Zymeworks will additionally be eligible to receive commercial and sales-based milestone payments of up to $718 million, as well as tiered high-single-digit to mid-teen royalties on future net sales of any approved medicines resulting from the collaboration.

Shares of Zymeworks climbed 4.3%, to $29.65, in premarket trading.

The collaboration is tied to the development of ZW209, an experimental lung cancer drug. Zymeworks will conduct the phase 1a monotherapy trial of ZW209 in collaboration with Roche, with Roche funding the trial and assuming responsibility for subsequent global development and commercialization efforts, the company said.

Under the agreement, Roche will have the exclusive right to develop and commercialize ZW209 globally.

"This collaboration allows us to continue advancing ZW209 through its initial clinical development while leveraging Roche's complementary capabilities to accelerate and expand its development across indications and treatment settings," said Adam Schayowitz, head of R&D at Zymeworks.

"The agreement also reflects our broader strategy of generating innovative programs through our R&D engine and partnering selected assets in ways that share development risk while preserving meaningful participation in their future success," he added.

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 23, 2026 06:54 ET (10:54 GMT)