Zion Pharma Announces Sale of Lead Program to Roche

Palo Alto and Shanghai – May 11, 2023 – Cooley advised Zion Pharma Limited, a Chinese biotechnology company focused on the development of brain-penetrable compounds, on the acquisition of its lead program, ZN-A-1041, by Roche. Partners Lila Hope and Yiming Liu led the Cooley team.

Zion’s lead program, ZN-A-1041, is an orally administered selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), which has the potential to treat or prevent the onset of brain metastases in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Zion will receive up to $70 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments after certain milestone events. Zion also is eligible to receive up to $610 million in additional payments following achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales-based milestone events, as well as tiered royalties on sales.

Zion Pharma is a private, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel, small-molecule, anti-tumoral agents on therapeutic targets that drive tumor inhibition, including ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM), Kirsten rat sarcoma (KRAS G12D) and SMARCA2 (BRM).

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