Zion Pharma Announces Global Agreement with Roche to Develop and Commercialize a Blood Brain Barrier Penetrant Oral HER2 Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor
9.5.2023 09:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Zion Pharma Limited, a Chinese biotechnology company focused on the development of brain-penetrable compounds, today announced that Roche has acquired the global rights to Zion’s lead program, ZN-A-1041. ZN-A-1041 is an orally administered selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting the Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2). ZN-A-1041 was designed to be blood-brain-barrier-penetrant, and has the potential to treat or prevent the onset of brain metastases in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Up to 50% of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer will develop brain metastasis during the course of the disease.
"Our agreement with Roche is the culmination of a tremendous team effort to deliver a potentially best-in-class therapy for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, particularly in the field of brain metastasis by virtue of the high blood-brain barrier permeability of this asset,” stated Zack Cheng, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Zion Pharma Limited. “Within five years, we have gone from company formation to first-in-human, to finding a partner in Roche, who has the resources and expertise to bring ZN-A-1041 to patients with few other therapeutic options,” Dr. Cheng continued.
Dr. Ding Zhou, Ph.D., CSO and Co-Founder of Zion Pharma Limited added, “We are pleased that Roche recognizes the potential of our asset for advancing the standard of care with regards to brain penetrable compounds in HER2-positive breast cancer.”
“We are excited to enter this partnership with Zion to further develop this innovative treatment option for people with HER2-positive breast cancer. This partnership builds on Roche’s legacy and expertise in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer and supports our pursuit of advancing science by combining external innovation with our in-house capabilities to address areas of high unmet patient needs,” said James Sabry, Global Head of Pharma Partnering.
After a transition period, Roche will be responsible for the further development, manufacturing, and commercialization of ZN-A-1041 globally. Zion will receive up to $70 million USD in upfront and near-term milestone payments pending achievement of certain milestone events. Zion will also be eligible for up to $610 million USD in additional payments following achievement of certain development, regulatory, and sales-based milestone events by ZN-A-1041, as well as tiered royalties on sales.
About ZN-A-1041
ZN-A-1041 is an orally administered selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting the Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2). ZN-A-1041 was designed to be blood-brain-barrier-penetrant. The ongoing Phase 1 trial is being conducted at multiple sites in the U.S. and China. Additional details will be presented at the poster sessions during the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in June 2023.
About Zion Pharma Limited
Zion Pharma is a private, clinical stage biotech company focused on the development of novel, small molecule, anti-tumoral agents. Founded in 2018, the company’s research headquarters are in Suzhou with additional research operations in Shanghai. The company is applying an innovative drug discovery approach, capitalizing on its DMPK expertise, to develop a pipeline of proprietary first-in-class/best-in-class compounds focused on therapeutic targets which drive tumor inhibition, including ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM), Kirsten RAt Sarcoma (KRAS G12D) and SMARCA2 (BRM). Additional information about Zion Pharma is available at www.zionpharma.com.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230508005468/en/
Contact information
For media and partnership inquiries:
J. Michael French
SVP, Corporate Development
michael.french@zionpharma.com
+1.703.338.1972
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
STARTEEPO Invest Announces 5% Stake in Xerox Holdings Corporation15.5.2026 19:15:00 EEST | Press release
STARTEEPO Invest (“STARTEEPO”), an alternative investment fund focused on public equity opportunities, today announced that it has acquired a significant ownership position in Xerox Holdings Corporation (“Xerox” or the “Company”). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260515594020/en/ As of the date of this release, STARTEEPO and its affiliates beneficially owns 6.6 million shares of Xerox (excluding options), representing approximately 5.05% of the Company’s outstanding common stock. STARTEEPO has filed a Schedule 13D with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) providing additional details regarding its investment. Investment Perspective STARTEEPO believes that Xerox represents an interesting investment opportunity supported by a combination of balance sheet initiatives, ongoing operational improvements, and its position within a changing and consolidating industry. In STARTEEPO’s view, the Company
NTT DATA Announces Intent to Acquire WinWire to Scale Enterprise AI Adoption and Accelerate Industry Transformation with Microsoft15.5.2026 17:00:00 EEST | Press release
NTT DATA, a global leader in AI, digital business and IT services, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire WinWire,an award-winning Microsoft partner specializing in Agentic AI, AI on Azure, data engineering and cloud-native development as foundational capabilities for enterprise AI. The acquisition strengthens NTT DATA’s position as a trusted partner to help organizations move beyond experimentation to operationalize AI at scale. The acquisition further advances NTT DATA’s enterprise AI strategy as demand accelerates for AI-driven, cloud-native transformation. By expanding capabilities across data platforms, agentic AI and modern applications, NTT DATA is sharpening its ability to deliver production-ready AI solutions aligned to industry needs, reinforcing its leadership as Microsoft’s Global System Integrator (GSI) Growth Champion Partner of the Year. Upon closing, WinWire will add more than 1,000 skilled Azure engineers and Microsoft specialists to NTT DATA,
Experian Expands Agent Trust Partner Ecosystem with Akamai to Advance Trusted AI Driven Commerce15.5.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Experian today announced that Akamai Technologies has joined its growing partner ecosystem, designed to further advance secure, trusted AI driven commerce through the Experian Agent Trust™ framework, alongside partner Skyfire supporting emerging payment innovation. As AI agents begin to search, decide, and transact autonomously, they introduce a fundamental challenge for businesses: how to trust an action when it is no longer directly initiated by a human. Without a verified connection between humans and AI agents, autonomous commerce introduces new risks in fraud, misrepresentation, and unauthorized transactions. Experian Agent Trust is designed to address this challenge by establishing identity, accountability, and trust in agent driven interactions. “Trust, security, and performance must scale alongside the growing role of AI agents in digital commerce,” said Kathleen Peters, Chief Innovation Officer at Experian. “Agentic commerce will not scale without trust. By adding Akamai to ou
The LYCRA Company and Dukane Advance Ultrasonic Bonding for Nonwovens at INDEX™ 2615.5.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
The LYCRA Company, a global leader in innovative and sustainable fiber solutions for the personal care industry, and Dukane, a manufacturer of ultrasonic bonding technologies for the hygiene and nonwovens market, are showcasing their latest co-developed advances in ultrasonic bonding at INDEX™ 26, taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 19–22. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260515514441/en/ Join The LYCRA Company and Dukane at INDEX™ 26 in Geneva, as they showcase their latest advances in ultrasonic bonding for nonwovens, including new LYCRA FUSION™ fiber for personal care that delivers superior snapback. Since 2014, both companies have collaborated to advance ultrasonic bonding solutions that help diaper manufacturers improve product softness, fit, and performance while reducing energy consumption, material waste, and maintenance costs. Ultrasonic bonding creates bonded channels between two layers of n
Vecima to Highlight Next-Generation 50G-PON, DOCSIS® 4.0 vCMTS, AI & Automation, and Monetizable Streaming at ANGA COM 202615.5.2026 14:45:00 EEST | Press release
Vecima Networks Inc. (TSX: VCM) will highlight its leadership in next-generation broadband at ANGA COM 2026, showcasing AI-powered network operations, cloud-native DOCSIS® 4.0 access, and scalable fiber solutions. Anchored by the Entra® vCMTS platform, Automation, and All-PON™ innovations, Vecima is enabling operators to automate operations, improve reliability, and accelerate the evolution to converged cable and fiber networks. Delivering on Next-Generation PON With Entra All-PON™, Vecima is enabling future-ready fiber networks with a straightforward migration path from today’s 10G technologies to 50G-PON, ensuring long-term scalability and investment protection. The new Entra EPS1650 All-PON Shelf supports 50G-PON, XGS-PON, 10G-EPON, GPON, and EPON services. As a follow-on to Vecima's industry-first demonstration of a single port supporting 50G ITU PON and 10G-EPON in a Remote OLT, the EPS1650 brings that same single-port investment-protection path to GPON and XGS-PON operators in a
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom