Roche’s Chugai partners with Araris Biotech to develop next-generation ADCs

JAPAN – Chugai Pharmaceutical, a Japanese subsidiary of Roche, is marking its centennial year with a major investment in advancing antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology.

The company has partnered with Zurich-based Araris Biotech to develop innovative ADCs, securing access to Araris’ cutting-edge platform, AraLinQ, for this endeavor.

Under the agreement, Araris will receive an upfront payment, funding for its research activities, and the potential to earn up to US $780 million in milestone payments.

Additionally, Araris will be entitled to royalties on future product sales, according to the announcement.

While the specific targets of this collaboration remain undisclosed, the partnership grants Chugai the option to take over the development, manufacturing, and global commercialization of resulting ADCs.

Araris, in turn, will apply its proprietary AraLinQ technology to create these novel ADCs using antibodies provided by Chugai.

The AraLinQ platform offers a unique approach to ADC development by enabling site-specific payload attachment to antibodies in a single step.

This method eliminates the need for prior antibody engineering, allowing for the incorporation of multiple payloads while preserving antibody stability and performance.

By addressing critical challenges in ADC development—such as poor stability, heterogeneity, and complex manufacturing processes—the AraLinQ platform sets itself apart as a highly differentiated technology in the field.

Dr. Philipp Spycher, Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of Araris, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, “This second collaboration with a large pharmaceutical company is a testimony of the attractiveness of our highly differentiated ADC platform and its potential to generate innovative ADCs with excellent pharmacokinetic properties and a wide therapeutic index.”

He further highlighted the platform’s capability to incorporate dual- or triple-warheads into native antibodies without requiring prior antibody engineering.

This partnership with Chugai follows an earlier collaboration Araris entered in late 2023 with another Japanese pharmaceutical company, Taiho Pharmaceutical, to develop ADCs for cancer targets.

Although the financial details of that agreement were not disclosed, it marked Araris’ first major collaboration with a large pharmaceutical company.

Founded as a spin-off from the Paul Scherrer Institute and ETH Zurich in 2019, Araris has quickly gained recognition for its innovative contributions to ADC technology.

In September 2024, the company published details of its AraLinQ platform in ChemBioChem, highlighting its groundbreaking capabilities.

Chugai, established in 1925 and integrated into the Roche Group in 2002, employs more than 7,500 people and is headquartered in Tokyo.

With this new partnership, Chugai aims to leverage Araris’ expertise to enhance its pipeline of next-generation ADCs.