C4 Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CCCC) shares climbed about 10% after the company announced a broadened partnership with Roche (SIX:RO, ROP; OTCQX:RHHBY) to develop degrader-antibody conjugates targeting cancer.
Under the terms of the agreement, C4 Therapeutics will receive an upfront payment of $20 million and could earn more than $1 billion in potential milestone payments tied to discovery, development, and commercial progress, along with royalties on future product sales. The collaboration will initially focus on two oncology targets, with Roche holding an option to add a third.
C4 Therapeutics will apply its TORPEDO platform to design degrader payload candidates, while Roche will be responsible for selecting and engineering the antibodies and linking them to the degrader payloads. Roche will also oversee preclinical and clinical development, as well as commercialization of the resulting drug candidates.
The partnership aims to combine antibody-drug conjugation with targeted protein degradation technology to create new cancer therapies. In addition to the upfront payment, C4 Therapeutics could receive additional near-term discovery milestones, and an extra payment if Roche chooses to pursue a third target. The company would also receive tiered royalties on any future commercial sales.
This agreement represents the third collaboration between the two companies, expanding on a relationship that began in 2016. The partners will initially work on two programs aimed at developing degrader-antibody conjugates for oncology targets that remain undisclosed and exclusive to the partnership.