Araris Biotech AG Announces Research Collaboration and Option to License Agreement with Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. to Develop Next-Generation ADCs Using Araris’ AraLinQ™ technology

• Araris will use proprietary AraLinQ™ linker-conjugation platform to generate novel ADCs using antibodies against targets provided by Chugai
• Araris to receive an upfront fee and milestone payments potentially totalling USD 780 million plus royalties on net product sales

AU ZH, SWITZERLAND, January 8, 2025 – Araris Biotech AG (“Araris”), a Swiss oncology biotech company developing next-generation antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), today announced they have entered a Research Collaboration and Option to License Agreement (“RCO”) under which Araris will use its proprietary linker-conjugation platform, AraLinQ™, to generate novel ADCs using antibodies against undisclosed targets provided by Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Chugai”).

“We are excited to enter a collaboration with Chugai Pharmaceutical and look forward to working closely with the Chugai team and apply our ADC technology to develop next-generation ADCs with improved efficacy and tolerability,” said Dr. Dragan Grabulovski, CEO and co-founder of Araris.

Dr. Philipp Spycher, CSO and co-founder of Araris added: “This second collaboration with a large pharmaceutical company is a testimony of the attractiveness of our highly differentiated ADC platform and its potential to generate innovative ADCs with excellent pharmacokinetic properties and wide therapeutic index, incorporating dual- or triple-warheads into one step on native antibodies, without any requirement of prior antibody engineering.”

Under the terms of the RCO Agreement, Chugai will pay an upfront fee, fund all research activities and after exercising the option be solely responsible for the development, manufacturing and global commercialization activities. Upon achievement of certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones by Chugai after exercising the option, Araris will be eligible for potential milestone payments of approximately USD 780 million, plus royalties on net sales of products.

About Araris Biotech AG

Araris Biotech is a leading independent company pioneering the future of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and redefining the entire paradigm of targeted cancer therapy and beyond. Araris’ vision is a world without chemotherapy and its proprietary conjugation and groundbreaking multi-payload technology represents a quantum leap forward in ADC design, enabling the transformation of any antibody into an ADC with the goal of better safety and efficacy. By enabling the attachment of multiple, synergistic cancer-fighting payloads to a single antibody in an efficient one-step process, Araris is creating a new generation of smart missiles that deliver the potency of combination chemotherapy in a targeted fashion in order to tackle the persistent challenges of cancer resistance. Araris’ investors include 4BIO Capital, b2venture, Pureos Bioventures, Redalpine, Schroders Capital, VI Partners, Wille AG, Institute for Follicular Lymphoma Innovation and Samsung Ventures.

For more information about our science and pipeline, please visit https://www.ararisbiotech.com