C4 Therapeutics announced a new collaboration with Roche that will advance research in the degrader‑antibody conjugate (DAC) modality. The agreement provides C4 with a $20 million upfront payment and the potential for more than $1 billion in discovery, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, as well as future royalty revenue.
Under the terms, C4 will use its proprietary TORPEDO platform to design degrader payload candidates, while Roche will select and engineer the antibody component and manage preclinical, clinical, and commercialization development. The partnership focuses on two undisclosed oncology targets, with an option for a third target if Roche exercises its right to expand the scope.
The collaboration represents a significant expansion of C4’s pipeline and a new source of non‑dilutive funding, reinforcing the company’s strategy to develop small‑molecule degraders with improved pharmacokinetics and therapeutic index. By combining C4’s catalytic degrader design with Roche’s extensive ADC experience, the deal positions C4 to capture a share of the growing DAC market and strengthens its competitive stance against other DAC developers such as Orum Therapeutics and Nurix Therapeutics.
Andrew Hirsch, president and chief executive officer of C4 Therapeutics, said: “For the past decade, C4T and Roche have worked together to drive research in targeted protein degradation and to establish this modality as a new way to treat cancer. Our new collaboration leverages C4T's ability to design highly catalytic and selective degraders, as well as degrader payloads for DACs, alongside Roche's extensive experience developing ADCs with specific binding. Together, these capabilities build a powerful new modality that can offer transformative medicines for patients.” Boris Zaïtra, head of corporate business development at Roche, added: “Roche has been a believer in targeted protein degradation and its potential for differentiation early on, when partnering with C4T for the first time in 2016. Our relationship with C4 Therapeutics is built on a decade of trust and shared scientific ambition. We are pleased to enter into our third collaboration, expanding our long‑standing partnership to pioneer the emerging modality of degrader‑antibody conjugates (DACs).”
The announcement was well received by investors, with analysts noting the substantial financial upside and strategic fit. The partnership underscores Roche’s continued commitment to the DAC modality and highlights C4’s growing role as a technology partner in this emerging field.
The deal’s financial terms provide immediate non‑dilutive capital and a clear path to significant milestone and royalty revenue, which could materially improve C4’s cash position and support future R&D investments. By leveraging Roche’s development and commercialization capabilities, C4 can accelerate the translation of its TORPEDO‑designed degraders into clinical candidates, potentially shortening the time to market and enhancing the company’s competitive advantage in the targeted protein degradation space.
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