Roche Biotech Partnership
Roche Partners With Dualitas in $1 Billion Deal for Bispecific Antibodies
Anonymous
Roche will pay Dualitas Therapeutics $36.5 million upfront to screen more than 300,000 bispecific antibody combinations aimed at treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The deal could be worth up to $1 billion in research, development and commercial milestones, plus tiered royalties, with Roche assuming responsibility for preclinical development, regulatory work, manufacturing and commercialization of selected candidates. Dualitas’ DualScreen platform uses functional testing to identify pairs of cell-surface targets whose combined effects may outperform existing therapies, rather than relying only on predetermined biological targets. The collaboration expands Roche’s bispecific antibody strategy beyond its established oncology business into areas such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, ulcerative colitis and allergic disease. Dualitas will retain the option to develop programs Roche does not select, while advancing its own pipeline, led by the rheumatoid arthritis candidate DTX-102, which is expected to enter clinical testing in 2027.
Key Points
1
Dualitas’ lead internal program, DTX-102, engages CD28 for rheumatoid arthritis; the company says preclinical testing found it more potent than an approved treatment and potentially suitable for more favorable dosing.
2
Roche’s existing bispecific-antibody portfolio includes marketed products such as Columvi, Hemlibra, Lunsumio and Vabysmo, spanning oncology, hemophilia A and eye diseases.
3
Roche will select only a “limited number” of programs from the collaboration, while Dualitas can later develop programs Roche declines, according to Dualitas co-founder Forbes Huang.
4
Dualitas says its screening engine can compare candidate combinations with approved medicines and monoclonal antibodies in clinical testing, helping identify combinations with differentiated activity rather than merely novel target pairings.
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