Roche first partnered with MediLink in January 2024, likewise for an antibody-drug conjugate for solid tumors.
Roche once again tapped its Chinese partner MediLink for another antibody-drug conjugate to be studied across several solid tumor types, nearly two years to the day after first partnering.
Roche is offering $570 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments to get exclusive rights to MediLink’s YL201, a B7H3-targeted therapy, according to news release on Thursday. The pharma will also be on the hook for downstream development, regulatory and commercial milestones, plus tiered royalties on net sales, though no specific amounts for these commitments have yet been disclosed.
Roche will take charge of YL201’s development, manufacturing and commercialization worldwide, except in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
B7H3 is an immune checkpoint protein that is highly expressed in many different cancers. By targeting it, YL201 brings its payload, a cytotoxic campothecin derivative, physically closer to its target tumors. In China, MediLink has advanced YL201 to into registrational development for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The asset has previously won the FDA’s breakthrough therapy designation for SCLC.
Thursday’s agreement deepens Roche’s ongoing collaboration with MediLink. The two first teamed up in January 2024 when the pharma put $1 billion on the line for YL211, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) directed to the c-MET protein. Like YL201, the companies are proposing YL211 for solid tumors.
This new MediLink pact also marks the third year in a row that Roche rang in the new year with a Chinese ADC agreement. After its original MediLink contract, the pharma welcomed 2025 with a potential $1 billion partnership with Suzhou-headquartered Innovent Biologics. The centerpiece of this deal is IBI3009, which binds to DLL3 and has the potential to address chemotherapy-resistant tumors.
Roche has been a prolific dealmaker even outside the cancer space. In September 2025, for instance, the pharma picked up 89bio in a $3.5 billion transaction, giving it the late-stage FGF21 analog pegozafermin for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Other recent deals for Roche include its $1 billion aging play with Gero and $2 billion blood-brain barrier bet with Manifold Bio.
