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
Charlotte Tilbury awarded CBE in the King’s Birthday Honours 202613.6.2026 00:31:00 EEST | Press release
Charlotte Tilbury CBE, sole Founder, President, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, has been awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours 2026 for services to the beauty and cosmetics industry. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260612679101/en/ Charlotte Tilbury, founder, president, chairman and chief creative officer of Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, who has been awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2026 for services to the beauty industry and entrepreneurship. (Photo: Charlotte Tilbury team) This honour recognises Charlotte’s contribution to leading and building Britain’s most successful global beauty brand. She has played a defining role in revolutionising the beauty industry and driving economic growth of the UK beauty sector, which has expanded from approximately £17bn in 2013 to over £31bn today. Charlotte Til
IQM Appoints Barbara Venneman, Vanguard Board Director and Former Global Head of Deloitte Digital, to its Board of Directors12.6.2026 19:36:00 EEST | Press release
IQM Quantum Computers, the global leader in superconducting quantum computers, today announced the appointment of Barbara Venneman to its Board of Directors. Venneman deepens the Board's expertise in digital transformation, enterprise technology commercialization, and global business scaling as IQM expands its commercial footprint worldwide. Additionally, CEO and Co-founder Jan Goetz will replace Co-founder Juha Vartiainen as the Founder representative on the IQM Board. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260612650938/en/ IQM Appoints Barbara Venneman, Vanguard Board Director and Former Global Head of Deloitte Digital, to its Board of Directors Ms. Venneman joins the IQM Board of Directors following a distinguished career at the intersection of advanced technology, strategy, and business transformation. She most recently served as Global Head of Deloitte Digital and previously held senior global leadership roles,
DEWA Organises Second Agentic AI Retreat at Al Shera’a, World’s Tallest, Largest and Smartest Net‑Positive Government Building12.6.2026 18:08:00 EEST | Press release
HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA),has emphasised that DEWA deploys the latest Agentic AI technologies, in line with the vision to enhance its leading role and reinforce Dubai’s position as the city of the future. He made these remarks during the Agentic AI Executive Retreat DEWA organised at Al Shera’a, its new headquarters, which is the world’s tallest, largest and smartest net-positive government building. The event was attended by the executive leadership team and key stakeholders in digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as representatives from SAP and McKinsey. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260612633834/en/ DEWA organises second Agentic AI Retreat at Al Shera’a, world’s tallest, largest and smartest net positive government building (Photo: AETOSWire) In his speech, Al Tayer said that DEWA is guided by directives from the wise l
BeOne Medicines’ Foundational Hematology Franchise Leads Next Era of B-Cell Cancer Innovation at EHA 202612.6.2026 13:00:00 EEST | Press release
BeOne Medicines Ltd. (Nasdaq: ONC; HKEX: 06160; SSE: 688235), a global oncology company, today announced new data from its foundational hematology franchise at the 2026 European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress in Stockholm. Updated results from tacabrutideg (BGB-16673), a potential best-in-class Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) degrader, demonstrated durable responses in pretreated relapsed/refractory (R/R) chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL), with early activity also seen in BTK inhibitor–naïve patients. These data are complemented by results from the all-oral combination of BRUKINSA® (zanubrutinib) plus next-generation BCL2 inhibitor BEQALZI™ (sonrotoclax; ZS), which continue to demonstrate rapid, deep, durable responses across multiple B-cell malignancies. Amit Agarwal, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, Hematology, BeOne Medicines, said: “BTK inhibition has reshaped the treatment of B-cell cancers, and we believe degradation is the next leap forwa
Cyviz: Microsoft’s Immersive Approach to Collaboration12.6.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Watch Video Case Study >> This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260612831180/en/ Watch Video Case Study >> https://www.cyviz.com/case-studies/microsoft-immersive-suite/ As business and technology environments grow more complex, establishing shared understanding across disciplines has become critical. The Immersive Suite is designed for active collaboration, where visual narratives, data, and technical content are explored interactively. This allows participants to test scenarios, align perspectives, and move more efficiently from discussion to decision. “We deliberately work with familiar tools like PowerPoint. That allows us to focus on storytelling and interaction rather than explaining technology, making collaboration more natural and effective,” says Joris Haverkort, Chief Technology Officer for Microsoft Netherlands. A key principle is simplicity at scale. Instead of relying on specialized tools, users build co
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