Genentech’s agreement with Earendil Labs came the same day its parent company, Roche, inked a cardiometabolic and renal deal with Atavistik Bio for up to $2 billion.
Genentech is paying $55 million upfront to work with AI biotech Earendil Labs to discover and develop several bispecific antibody cancer therapies.
The heavily backloaded deal could top $1.5 billion, encompassing the pharma’s upfront commitment plus development, regulatory and sales milestones, according to a Thursday release. Earendil could also receive tiered royalties on net sales if products stemming from the alliance make it to market.
Under the terms of the agreement, Earendil will lead antibody discovery and early clinical research work for certain pre-agreed target combinations. Genentech will then take charge of any global clinical development and commercialization activities.
The partners will work on oncology indications but have yet to publicly identify target diseases. “We continue to follow the science and invest in emerging breakthrough areas and assets with best-in-class potential that could deliver broad patient benefit in the near, mid- and long-term,” a Roche spokesperson told BioSpace over email.
Earendil uses an AI-driven platform that can generate antibody sequences to produce next-generation biologic therapies. In March, the biotech raised an eye-popping $787 million in a private funding round backed by Sanofi and the Biotech Development Fund, which is created by Hillhouse and Pfizer, among others. Sanofi in April 2025 also fronted $125 million to license two bispecific antibodies from Earendil for autoimmune conditions and inflammatory bowel diseases. That deal included up to $1.72 billion in milestones.
For Genentech’s parent, Roche, the Earendil deal could help deepen the pharma’s bispecific portfolio. One of the pharma’s biggest products is Vabysmo, an antibody that binds to two proteins—VEGF-A and angiopoietin-2—for the treatment of various eye diseases. Last year, Vabysmo generated CHF 4.1 billion ($4.95 billion).
In cancer, Roche owns the CD20xCD3 T-cell engaging bispecific therapies Lunsumio, for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, and Columvi, for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma or large B cell lymphoma.
Roche inked a deal of its own on Thursday, linking up with Atavistik Bio for $70 million upfront to develop small-molecule drugs for cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases in a deal that could reach nearly $2 billion. Earlier this month, Roche put up to $1 billion on the line to work with Dualitas Therapeutics on next-generation bispecific antibodies. Other recent Roche deals include a DualityBio pact for potentially more than $1 billion and an agreement with Hanmi Pharm for up to $2.3 billion.
