Zymeworks licenses experimental lung cancer drug to Roche in up to $813 million deal

By Sahil Pandey

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Zymeworks said on Friday Roche has gained rights to develop and commercialize its experimental lung cancer drug under a global licensing deal worth up to $813 million.

• Zymeworks will receive $55 million upfront and an additional $40 million when the Swiss drugmaker begins a planned dose-optimization study of the drug ZW209

• Roche will take over the development of the treatment after Zymeworks completes the dose-escalation portion of an ongoing early-stage study

• The company said the drug targets DLL3, a protein commonly found on small-cell lung cancer cells but rarely seen in healthy tissue

• Roche has agreed to partner on ZW209 before efficacy data were available because of "the innovation and differentiation in our trispecific T-cell engager platform," Zymeworks CEO Kenneth Galbraith told Reuters

• The first patient is expected to be enrolled before the end of 2026, Galbraith said

• The company said it could receive up to $718 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, in addition to tiered royalties on future sales

(Reporting by Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)