Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEDP) and Zelluna ASA (OSE: ZLNA) announced that Medpace will act as the contract research organization for Zelluna’s first‑in‑human clinical trial of the TCR‑NK cell therapy candidate ZI‑MA4‑1 (ZIMA‑101). The Phase 1 study will enroll patients with advanced solid tumors—including lung, ovarian, head and neck, and sarcoma—making it the first MAGE‑A4‑targeting TCR‑NK therapy to enter clinical testing.
Medpace will provide a full suite of clinical development services, from operations and regulatory support to data management and pharmacovigilance. The partnership expands Medpace’s oncology portfolio and reinforces its reputation as a high‑science CRO capable of executing complex early‑phase cell‑therapy trials. For Zelluna, the collaboration marks a critical step in moving from preclinical discovery to clinical development, giving the company access to Medpace’s expertise in oncology and advanced therapies.
Zelluna’s ZI‑MA4‑1 is a novel platform that combines T‑cell receptor specificity with natural killer cell cytotoxicity, offering potential advantages in scalability and safety over traditional CAR‑T or TCR‑T products. The partnership positions Zelluna to generate the first clinical data for its platform, a milestone that could accelerate future development of additional TCR‑NK candidates and broaden the company’s pipeline.
Medpace’s Q4 2025 earnings, released on February 9 2026, showed revenue of $708.5 million—up 32.0% year‑over‑year—and GAAP net income of $135.1 million, or $4.67 per diluted share, beating consensus estimates of $4.18. The earnings beat was driven by strong demand in core oncology services and disciplined cost management, which helped offset a 1.8% decline in EBITDA margin. Management highlighted elevated project cancellations in the metabolic therapeutic area, which lowered the net book‑to‑bill ratio to 1.04x and prompted a more cautious 2026 revenue guidance of 8.9%–12.8% growth, down from the 20% growth seen in 2025.
Investor reaction to the earnings release was muted, with concerns focused on the higher cancellation rate, the lower book‑to‑bill ratio, and the decelerated growth outlook. These headwinds tempered enthusiasm for the Medpace–Zelluna partnership, even as the collaboration itself represents a strategic win for both companies. The partnership is expected to generate incremental revenue for Medpace in the coming quarters and could open doors to further TCR‑NK and cell‑therapy collaborations, while Zelluna gains a trusted CRO partner to navigate the regulatory and clinical challenges of early‑phase trials.
The partnership underscores Medpace’s continued focus on advanced therapies and positions Zelluna to advance its first clinical program. Together, the companies aim to deliver the first clinical data for a TCR‑NK therapy, a development that could reshape the treatment landscape for solid tumors and expand the commercial potential of both firms’ oncology portfolios.
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