Genentech has partnered with AI drug discovery company Earendil Labs in an oncology-focused research collaboration worth up to $1.5 billion. Genentech will pay $55 million upfront to leverage Earendil's AI-driven biologics platform for discovering bispecific antibodies. Earendil will lead early research before handing programs to Genentech for global clinical development. The deal highlights Roche's aggressive expansion in the bispecific antibody space, following recent deals with Dualitas and Atavistik.
Genentech and Earendil Labs collaboration terms
- ▪Genentech will pay Earendil Labs tiered royalties on net product sales for any marketed therapies resulting from the collaboration.
- ▪Earendil Labs will lead antibody discovery and early clinical research, while Genentech will handle global clinical trials and commercialization.
- ▪Genentech is paying Earendil Labs $55 million upfront, with total potential payments exceeding $1.5 billion including development, regulatory, and sales milestones.
- ▪Genentech and Earendil Labs signed a research collaboration on September 24, 2026, to discover and develop therapeutic bispecific antibodies in oncology.
Earendil Labs technology and pipeline
- ▪Earendil Labs co-CEO Zhenping Zhu stated that tumor growth and metastasis depend on multiple interactive pathways, making single-mechanism therapies less effective than bispecifics.
- ▪Earendil Labs uses an AI-driven platform to generate and optimize antibody sequences at a massive scale to design next-generation biologic therapies.
- ▪Earendil Labs is developing several T-cell engagers, including candidates targeting GUCY2C and DLL3, as well as a CEACAM5xCDH17 bispecific.
Roche bispecific antibody portfolio
- ▪Roche owns the cancer bispecific therapies Lunsumio, for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, and Columvi, for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma.
- ▪Roche's bispecific antibody Vabysmo, which treats eye diseases by binding to VEGF-A and angiopoietin-2, generated CHF 4.1 billion in 2025.
Sanofi partnerships with Earendil Labs
- ▪Sanofi paid Earendil Labs an additional $160 million in upfront and near-term milestones in January 2026 for further autoimmune bispecific antibody development.
- ▪Sanofi paid Earendil Labs $125 million upfront in April 2025 to license two bispecific antibodies for autoimmune and inflammatory bowel diseases.
Debatable claims
- ▪Bispecific antibodies are more effective for cancer treatment than single-mechanism therapies
- ▪Big pharma should develop AI drug discovery capabilities in-house rather than outsourcing to startups
- ▪Heavily backloaded milestone deals unfairly shift drug development risks onto biotech startups
- ▪AI-driven platforms are reliable enough to lead early-stage antibody discovery
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