Roche RHHBY has entered into an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement with Nurix Therapeutics NRIX to co-develop and co-commercialize bexobrutideg (NX-5948) across malignant hematology, immunology and neurology indications.
The deal expands Roche’s hematology pipeline while providing opportunities to advance the therapy across immunology and neurology indications. Shares of NRIX are up in pre-market trading on the collaboration news.
Year to date, shares of RHHBY have lost 0.2% against the industry’s growth of 4.5%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
More on RHHBY-NRIX Collaboration
Bexobrutideg (NX-5948) is an investigational, orally bioavailable, brain-penetrant bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) degrader for the treatment of relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies and diseases in immunology and neurology.
Bexobrutideg employs a novel protein degradation mechanism that eliminates BTK rather than simply inhibiting it, potentially overcoming resistance associated with currently available BTK inhibitors.
The drug is expected to enter phase III testing in second-line chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) later in 2026. Early clinical results suggest the therapy could deliver superior efficacy and tolerability compared with existing BTK inhibitors while potentially overcoming key resistance mechanisms. The collaboration also enables Roche to leverage its leading hematology franchise to accelerate the drug’s development and commercialization.
Under the agreement, Nurix will receive $700 million upfront and could earn up to $2.3 billion in total through development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments. Roche will fund 60% of development costs, with Nurix covering the remaining 40%.
The companies will jointly commercialize bexobrutideg in the United States, sharing profits and losses equally. Outside the United States, Roche will lead commercialization, while Nurix will receive tiered royalties ranging from the low- to high-teens.
The companies expect the transaction to be completed in the third quarter of 2026.
RHHBY’s Efforts to Diversify Pipeline
While Roche’s performance in the first quarter was weighed down by unfavorable foreign-exchange movements, the company’s underlying operational performance remained solid. Strong growth from key products helped offset declining revenues from legacy drugs.
MS drug Ocrevus and ophthalmology drug Vabysmo continued their stellar performances. Growth in hemophilia treatment Hemlibra and breast cancer drug Phesgo also boosted RHHBY’s top line.
Roche has a strong and diversified pipeline spanning multiple therapeutic modalities.
Bexobrutideg has delivered encouraging results as a monotherapy in clinical trials for B-cell malignancies.
The collaboration adds to Roche’s oncology pipeline and offers potential indications in immunology (chronic spontaneous urticaria) and neurology (multiple sclerosis).
The FDA recently accepted and granted Priority Review to its new drug application for giredestrant, an investigational oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD), for the adjuvant treatment of adults with ER-positive, HER2-negative stage I–III breast cancer. A regulatory decision is expected by Nov. 30, 2026.
A tentative approval of breast cancer candidate giredestrant could serve as a meaningful catalyst for the stock.
While Roche is making efforts to further diversify its broad portfolio, the company remains a late entrant into the highly competitive obesity market, which is currently dominated by other large-cap pharma players, such as Eli Lilly LLY and Novo Nordisk NVO.
Roche’s obesity assets include enicepatide (CT-388) and petrelintide. Roche is rapidly advancing its obesity pipeline, with both enicepatide and petrelintide progressing into phase III trials and a multi-arm phase II combination study set to begin in mid-2026.
Eli Lilly currently leads the obesity market with its tirzepatide-based dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists, Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Arch rival Novo Nordisk commands a strong position with its semaglutide-based GLP-1 therapies, Ozempic and Wegovy, used in type II diabetes and obesity.
Both LLY and NVO generate a major chunk of their total revenues from their respective cardiometabolic drugs.
RHHBY’s Zacks Rank
Roche currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here
The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.
See Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Roche Holding AG (RHHBY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO): Free Stock Analysis Report
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Nurix Therapeutics, Inc. (NRIX): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).