DualityBio Licenses DUPAC ADC Payload Platform to Genentech in Deal Worth Up to More Than $1 Billion

DualityBio has entered into a global collaboration and license agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to develop next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) using DualityBio's proprietary DualityBio Unique Payload Antibody Conjugate (DUPAC) payload platform, the company announced August 28, 2026.¹ DualityBio will receive a $45 million upfront payment and is eligible for more than $1 billion in potential development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments across all programs, plus tiered royalties on net sales.¹

"As topoisomerase inhibitor-based ADCs achieve broad clinical success and move into earlier lines of therapy, a growing unmet medical need is emerging for patients whose tumors are resistant or refractory to this payload class," said John Zhu, PhD, founder and CEO of DualityBio, in a company press release.¹ "We built DUPAC to help address this challenge with a family of next-generation payloads designed to overcome resistance and enable each ADC program to expand the breadth of the underlying tumor biology."

What does the DUPAC platform target, and why does it matter?

DUPAC is 1 of DualityBio's 4 proprietary ADC technology platforms and comprises multiple distinct payloads, each built on a different antitumor mechanism, paired with linker technologies designed for systemic stability and tumor-specific drug release. The platform is designed to retain antitumor activity in tumors that are resistant or less responsive to topoisomerase inhibitor-based ADCs, a payload class increasingly used in earlier lines of therapy across major solid tumor indications.¹

One DUPAC payload, DUP5, is a novel messenger RNA (mRNA) translation inhibitor that produced partial or complete tumor regression in preclinical xenograft models, including tumor models poorly responsive to deruxtecan-based ADCs, and demonstrated a bystander effect that may help address tumor heterogeneity.²

"Antibody specificity remains essential, but payload mechanism, linker release, and antigen-mediated internalization all shape whether selective delivery translates into a treatment profile patients can remain on,” according to Allan Jordan, PhD, vice president of oncology drug discovery, and Josh Greally, PhD, ADC lead, both at Sygnature Discovery, in an article written for BioPharm International®.³ “We must match the targeting selectivity of the antibody with the mechanistic and biological selectivity of the payload.”

What are the terms of the collaboration?

Under the agreement, DualityBio will generate and develop ADCs against Genentech-defined oncology targets using DUPAC payloads, leading discovery and early global clinical development. Genentech receives an exclusive, worldwide license to the resulting ADCs and will assume sole responsibility for further clinical development and commercialization after phase 1a.

How does this fit into DualityBio's broader pipeline?

DualityBio is conducting multiple global, multicenter clinical trials across nearly 20 countries, with more than 3500 patients enrolled to date, and has entered several other out-licensing collaborations with global pharmaceutical companies. The company has also partnered with BioNTech on ADC candidates including BNT325/DB-1305, targeting TROP2, and BNT323/DB-1303, targeting HER2, evaluated together with BioNTech's programmed cell death ligand 1/vascular endothelial growth factor-A bispecific antibody BNT327 in an ongoing phase 1/2 trial in patients with advanced solid tumors.⁴

"By further enhancing targeted medicines like ADCs, we focus our innovation where the need is highest," said Boris L. Zaïtra, head of Roche corporate business development, in the release.¹ "[C]ollaborating with partners such as DualityBio enables us to identify novel treatment options, such that we can tackle patients' unmet needs in cancer care."

What are the limitations?

This is a discovery- and preclinical-stage collaboration, thus no DUPAC-based ADC from this agreement has yet entered clinical trials, nor were any specific programs, targets, or timelines disclosed at this time. Financial terms beyond the disclosed upfront payment and aggregate milestone cap were not itemized by program.

References

1. DualityBio. DualityBio enters a global collaboration and license agreement with Genentech to develop next-generation ADCs built on DualityBio's DUPAC novel-payload platform. Press release. Published August 28, 2026. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://en.dualitybiologics.com/news/614.html
2. Lin S, Li B, Zhang Y, et al. DUP5, a novel mRNA translation inhibitor as a payload for antibody drug conjugates, exhibits promising preclinical efficacy. Mol Cancer Ther. 2025;24(10 Suppl):Abstract B129. doi:10.1158/1535-7163.TARG-25-B129
3. Jordan A, Greally J. Why ADC payload design needs to move beyond cytotoxicity. BioPharm International. Published July 7, 2026. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://www.biopharminternational.com/view/adc-payload-design-cytotoxicity
4. DualityBio. DualityBio presented early clinical and preclinical data for novel ADC therapy candidates at AACR 2025. Press release. Published April 29, 2025. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://en.dualitybiologics.com/news/587.html