Roche has entered into a new agreement with MediLink, a biotechnology company based in China, to secure exclusive rights to YL201, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets the B7H3 protein. The deal includes $570 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments. Roche will also be responsible for additional development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments as well as tiered royalties on net sales, though the exact amounts for these future commitments have not been specified.
Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will oversee the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of YL201 globally except in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. In those regions, MediLink retains rights to continue its work on YL201.
B7H3 is an immune checkpoint protein found at high levels in various cancers. YL201 delivers a cytotoxic campothecin derivative directly to tumors expressing this protein. In China, MediLink has advanced YL201 into registrational development for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration previously granted breakthrough therapy designation to YL201 for SCLC.
This latest agreement builds on an ongoing collaboration between Roche and MediLink that began in January 2024 with a $1 billion deal focused on another ADC candidate called YL211 targeting c-MET for solid tumors.
Roche’s strategy has included multiple deals with Chinese biotech firms over recent years. At the start of 2025, Roche announced a partnership worth up to $1 billion with Innovent Biologics centered around IBI3009—a DLL3-targeting ADC intended for chemotherapy-resistant tumors.
Beyond oncology collaborations in China, Roche completed several other acquisitions recently. In September 2025 it acquired 89bio for $3.5 billion to obtain pegozafermin—an FGF21 analog developed for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Other transactions include a $1 billion agreement with Gero related to aging research and a $2 billion partnership with Manifold Bio focusing on blood-brain barrier therapeutics.
