Swiss-Japanese ADC player Araris expands Chugai pact with $780m licensing agreement
Zurich-based oncology biotech Araris Biotech AG has entered into a research collaboration with an option to license with Japan’s Chugai Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Roche. The aim of the partnership is to develop next-generation antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs). While Araris itself is now Japanese-owned – a wholly owned subsidiary of Taiho Pharmaceutical, part of the Otsuka Group – its research activities remain firmly rooted in Zurich. That presence was highlighted last year when the Strüngmann brothers, German billionaire twins, awarded a prize to the company’s founders.
Araris Biotech AG has concluded a research collaboration and option-to-license agreement with Chugai Pharmaceutical. The collaboration, launched around a year ago and already including a licensing option, is now moving into its next phase with the option being exercised. The focus remains on the development of next-generation ADCs using the AraLinQ™ platform.
For Araris, the agreement includes an upfront payment as well as development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments that could total up to around USD 780 million (€655m), in addition to royalties on net sales.
New ADCs as a Swiss Army knife for Japan
Under the terms of the agreement, Araris will generate novel ADCs based on antibodies against undisclosed targets provided by Chugai. Chugai will fund all research activities and, following completion of the research phase, assume responsibility for further development, manufacturing and global commercialisation after exercising the exclusive licence option.
Araris positions its AraLinQ™ platform as a highly differentiated ADC technology designed to deliver improved efficacy and tolerability. A key feature is the ability to attach multiple payloads to native antibodies in a single-step process, without the need for prior antibody engineering.
Following Araris’ acquisition by Taiho, the collaboration with Chugai underlines the growing industrial interest in the Swiss ADC ecosystem. Araris Biotech was acquired by Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. in March 2025 for up to USD 1.14 billion, including an upfront payment of USD 400 million and up to USD 740 million in milestone payments. Whether the now-executed Chugai deal represents one such milestone has not been disclosed.
In July last year, two of the company’s three founders (co-founder Isabella Attinger-Toller was unable to attend) received the Strüngmann Award from the two German pharmaceutical billionaire founders of Hexal. An already very active 2025 thus appears to be continuing with the next chapter of the Chugai partnership.
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International Journal of Molecular Sciences, doi: 10.3390/ijms17040561 JO - s