Earendil Labs, a Wilmington, Delaware-based AI-powered biotechnology company, announced on September 24, 2026 a research collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to discover and develop multiple therapeutic bispecific antibody programs in oncology. Under the deal, Earendil will lead antibody discovery and research through early clinical development for programs directed at pre-agreed target combinations, after which Genentech takes over global clinical development and commercialization; the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. Earendil will receive a $55 million upfront payment, with total potential deal value — including upfront, development, regulatory, and sales milestones — exceeding $1.5 billion, plus tiered royalties on net product sales.
Jian Peng, PhD, CEO of Earendil Labs, said: “Genentech is a pioneer in defining modern biologics cancer medicine. Earendil Labs is building an AI-driven high-throughput biology platform that effectively integrates AI directly into biologics research and development—from predictive protein modeling and generative protein design to rapid experimental validation. By combining our platform with Genentech’s deep expertise in oncology drug development, we aim to accelerate the creation of differentiated bispecific antibodies and translate them into new medicines.”
Why Bispecifics, and Why Now
Zhenping Zhu, MD, PhD, President and Co-CEO of Earendil Labs, laid out the scientific case: “Despite many major advances in targeted cancer therapies and immunotherapies, there still exists a significant unmet medical need as many cancer patients develop drug resistance or relapse. Tumor growth and metastasis depend on multiple and interactive biological pathways, making it especially challenging for therapies directed at a single mechanism to achieve durable benefit. Bispecific antibodies offer the potential to address complementary disease biology within a single medicine. Through this strategic collaboration, we strive to discover and advance meaningful new treatment options for patients expeditiously.”
Boris L. Zaïtra, Head of Roche Corporate Business Development, added: “Bispecific antibodies have reframed how we approach treatment precision in oncology. In cancers where patients face high relapse rates and limited options, bispecific antibodies support our commitment to delivering innovative, targeted therapies. Partnering with companies such as Earendil Labs allows us to push the boundaries of scientific innovation to meet patients’ critical unmet needs in oncology.” Neither company has disclosed the specific tumor targets or indications the programs will pursue.
A Fast-Rising Dealmaker
This is Earendil’s second major pharma collaboration in 2026 alone and continues a rapid run of external partnerships built around its AI-enabled antibody discovery platform. In April 2025, Sanofi paid $125 million upfront to license two Earendil-discovered bispecific antibodies, HXN-1002 and HXN-1003, for autoimmune and inflammatory bowel disease, in a deal worth up to $1.72 billion in milestones; Sanofi returned in early 2026 for a separate multi-program bispecific discovery collaboration valued at up to $2.56 billion. Earendil also struck an $885 million antibody-drug conjugate deal with WuXi XDC in February 2026 and raised $787 million in financing that March. The company’s in-house pipeline includes HXN-1001, a half-life-extended anti-TL1A antibody for inflammatory bowel disease that began dosing in a Phase 2 ulcerative colitis study in April 2026.
About Earendil Labs
Earendil Labs is an AI-powered biotech company researching and developing next-generation biologics for autoimmune disease, cancer, and other conditions of unmet medical need. Combining advanced machine learning, generative protein engineering, and high-throughput experimental techniques, Earendil Labs and its affiliate Helixon aim to streamline and accelerate the drug discovery and research process, with a proprietary framework designed to optimize the functionality, manufacturability, and developability of protein-based biologics with first-in-class and/or best-in-class potential.
