Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Roche Holding AG / Xencor, Inc.

2019 · Licensing/Option · $1.6B · Terminated

Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.

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The coverage arc

Feb 05, 2019 BioPharma Dive Bullish

Xencor inks $120M deal with Roche for preclinical bispecific; the unusually rich upfront for a preclinical asset reflects Roche's appetite for bispecific and…

Feb 07, 2019 DCAT Value Chain Insights Bullish

Roche's Genentech and Xencor form $460M deal for cytokine therapeutics, validating engineered IL-15 as a strategic priority for combination immuno-oncology…

Mar 04, 2026 TipRanks (Xencor disclosure) Bearish

On March 4, 2026 Xencor disclosed that Genentech (Roche) will terminate the collaboration and license agreement effective September 4, 2026, after Roche…

Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.

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Genentech (Roche Group) and Xencor entered a research and license agreement, announced February 5, 2019 and closed effective March 8, 2019 after HSR clearance, to develop novel IL-15 cytokine therapeutics led by XmAb24306 (later RG6323 / efbalropendekin alfa), an IL-15/IL-15Ra-Fc complex built on Xencor's bispecific Fc and Xtend technology. Xencor received $120M upfront and was eligible for up to $160M in clinical milestones per program plus additional development milestones (more than $1.5B in aggregate potential across the IL-15 portfolio), and could share 45% of net profits/losses on XmAb24306. The partnership subsequently unwound: Xencor opted out of the 45% cost-sharing in the first half of 2024, leaving Genentech as sole funder; Roche removed efbalropendekin alfa from its development pipeline in January 2025; and on March 4, 2026 Xencor disclosed that Genentech will terminate the collaboration and license agreement effective September 4, 2026 — the lead asset never advanced to a profit-sharing commercial stage.

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Roche Holding AG / Xencor, Inc. (this deal)2019$1.6B
Roche Holding AG / Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.2002$1.4B100
Roche Holding AG / Ventana Medical Systems Inc.2008$3.4B88
Roche Holding AG / Corange Ltd. (Boehringer Mannheim Group)1997$11.0B88
Roche Holding AG / Ventana Medical Systems Inc.2007$3.4B88
Roche Holding AG / Foundation Medicine, Inc.2015$1.1B87
Roche Holding AG / Foundation Medicine, Inc.2018$5.3B85

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