Zion Pharma Announces Global Agreement with Roche to Develop and Commercialize a Blood Brain Barrier Penetrant Oral HER2 Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor
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
Social Development Bank Highlights Strategic Partnerships and Global Initiatives at DeveGo 202524.12.2025 18:27:00 EET | Press release
The Social Development Bank (SDB) hosted the second edition of the Entrepreneurship and Modern Business Practices Forum, “DeveGo 2025”, from 21 to 23 December in Riyadh. Held under the patronage of His Excellency Eng. Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al Rajhi, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development and Chairman of SDB’s Board of Directors, the forum brings together government leaders, global experts, investors, and entrepreneurs to shape the future of entrepreneurship and modern business practices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251224036724/en/ From right to left: Ahmed Al Rajhi, Saudi's Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, H.E. Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, and Sultan Al Hamidi, CEO of Social Development (Photo: AETOSWire) Opening the forum, Minister Al Rajhi delivered a keynote speech on the growing vibrancy of Saudi Arabia’s entrepreneurial movem
Making Science Unveils ‘AWAKE’: The AI Venture Studio Industrialising Startup Creation and AI-First Innovative Solutions23.12.2025 21:51:00 EET | Press release
Making Science, the global digital acceleration consultancy, today announced the launch of AWAKE Venture Studio. This "AI-first" model represents a new era in systematic innovation, designed to identify, prototype, and scale both internal proprietary solutions and independent AI-native startups with global reach. The launch of AWAKE is motivated by the significant efficiency gains of orders of magnitude that Making Science has already achieved through the internal integration of AI. By applying these methods, the firm has achieved a 2x acceleration in tech feature development reducing time in the deployment of AI Agents. This model has already proven its commercial and innovative power through the acceleration of startups like ad-machina, which has multiplied its value by 10 since joining the Making Science ecosystem. These proven benchmarks serve as the technical foundation for AWAKE’s two interconnected engines, which formalise this efficiency into a repeatable manufacturing process
FDA Clears First Extended Depth of Focus Contact Lens for Presbyopia23.12.2025 19:07:00 EET | Press release
The Cataltheia Group and its U.S. subsidiary, Bruno Vision Care LLC, a leader in eye health innovation, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the first and only Daily Disposable Soft (Hydrophilic) Contact Lens for Presbyopia utilizing patented Extended Depth of Focus (EDOF) optical design technology, enabling commercial distribution in the United States. Deseyne® delivers smooth, continuous focus across near, intermediate, and distance vision, providing clear, natural vision without compromise. This performance is enabled by Cataltheia’s patented hyper-refractive central zone, engineered to precisely redirect light in a controlled manner. The result is a clear clinical advantage over the only other available contact lens option for presbyopia, multifocal lenses, which rely on multiple optical zones and often require prolonged visual and cognitive adaptation. “We are proud to offer the first contact lens solution for the world’s aging population th
Aramco Awards SLB Long-Term Contract to Support Kingdom’s Unconventional Gas Production Growth23.12.2025 15:58:00 EET | Press release
Global technology company SLB (NYSE: SLB) has been awarded a five-year contract by Aramco to provide stimulation services for its unconventional gas fields. This award is part of a broader multi-billion contract, supporting one of the largest unconventional gas development programs globally. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251223074948/en/ The contract encompasses advanced stimulation, well intervention, frac automation, and digital solutions, which are important to unlocking the potential of Saudi Arabia’s unconventional gas resources. The contract encompasses advanced stimulation, well intervention, frac automation, and digital solutions, which are important to unlocking the potential of Saudi Arabia’s unconventional gas resources — a cornerstone of the Kingdom’s strategy to diversify its energy portfolio and support the global energy transition. “This agreement is an important step forward in Aramco’s effor
Tabelog, Japan's Largest (*1) Restaurant Search and Reservation Service, Launches Multilingual App for International Visitors23.12.2025 15:00:00 EET | Press release
Tabelog (https://tabelog.com/en/), Japan's largest restaurant search and reservation service operated by Kakaku.com, Inc., launched its multilingual smartphone application (iOS/Android) for international travelers on Monday, November 17, 2025. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251221963753/en/ The Tabelog Multilingual App for International Travelers — Japan's Largest Restaurant Search and Reservation Service With approximately 100 million monthly users(*3), Tabelog is Japan's premier service widely used by Japanese locals for daily restaurant discovery. Its database is unrivaled domestically, featuring information on approximately 890,000 establishments nationwide and over 85 million reviews and photos(*4). Unlike global map services or travel sites, Tabelog is built on "authentic ratings and reviews from local Japanese users," enabling travelers to discover truly exceptional restaurants beloved by locals — not
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