On December 16, 2025 Caris Life Sciences (NASDAQ: CAI), a leading, patient-centric, next-generation AI TechBio company and precision medicine pioneer, reported that its therapeutic research arm, Caris Discovery, has entered into a multi-year collaboration and license agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. In this collaboration, Caris will work to identify and validate novel oncology targets in solid tumor tissue.

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Under the terms of the agreement, Caris is eligible to receive upfront and near-term payments of $25 million and is also eligible for up to $1.1 billion of potential research, development, commercial and net sales milestone payments, as well as potential tiered royalties on net sales of collaboration therapies.

"At Caris, we are committed to making precision medicine a reality for all patients. This innovative collaboration with Genentech is specifically designed to identify and validate novel targets in solid tumors. By combining Caris’ unparalleled multimodal data and tissue-based discovery engine with Genentech’s deep expertise in therapeutics development, we hope to enable the development of first-in-class medicines for cancer patients," said Milan Radovich, PhD, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Caris.

"Roche and Genentech are driven by a profound vision – a future where cancer can be cured," said Boris L. Zaïtra, Head of Roche Corporate Business Development. "We have successfully led many fundamental scientific advances in oncology. As we continue to bring forth transformative medicines, collaborations with partners such as Caris allow us to pursue future innovation for patients with unmet needs."

Caris is able to leverage insights from its extensive repository of nearly 500,000 solid tumor samples, along with matched comprehensive molecular and clinical data, to offer sophisticated and flexible target discovery capabilities leveraging both tissue-based and data-centric techniques to biopharma partners. Caris Discovery scientists use an integrated bioinformatics and wet-lab workflow, which combines interrogation of solid tissue and cell-based systems with multimodal data to validate prioritized targets and help advance the development of next generation therapies.

(Press release, Caris Life Sciences, DEC 16, 2025, View Source [SID1234661467])

On December 16, 2025 Allink Biotherapeutics, Inc. (AllinkBio), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focusing on developing advanced antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and multi-specific antibody therapeutics for oncology and immunology, reported successful completion of its extension rounds of Series A, raising 47 million US dollars. The extension rounds were led by existing supporter Legend Capital and new investor Meituan Long-Z Investment, followed by other prominent returning and new investors including Lanchi Ventures, Yuanbio Venture Capital, 5Y Capital, Lapam Capital, Runzhang Venture Capital, etc.

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Advancing Global Clinical Development for Two Leading Assets

The Series A extension rounds will help advance global clinical development for the company’s two leading programs with distinct competitive advantages. ALK201, a potential first- and best-in-class FGFR2b-targeted ADC, has demonstrated encouraging efficacy signals across multiple tumor types with a favorable safety profile, supporting its development as a backbone therapy for FGFR2b-overexpressing solid tumors. In parallel, early clinical data for ALK202 have provided preliminary support of the EGFR/cMET bispecific ADC’s potential as a cornerstone therapy in non-small cell lung cancer. Furthermore, the program is being expanded into clinical evaluation of a broader range of biomarker-defined tumor types and patient populations.

AllinkBio has started developing both lead clinical assets through a biomarker-guided strategy designed to demonstrate efficacy in a broad spectrum of solid tumors. In the near term, the company plans to initiate combination therapy studies to further explore the two assets’ therapeutic potential in broader front-line patient populations. These initiatives will accelerate ALK201 and ALK202 toward pivotal trial readiness while establishing a differentiated profile in their respective target indications.

Augmenting Novel Technology Platform Capabilities

Expanding beyond its ADC technology, AllinkBio is establishing a proprietary masked T-cell engager (TCE) platform to evolve the application of TCEs for solid tumors. In the immunology space, the company is advancing a portfolio of first-in-class bi- and multi-specific antibody drug candidates. Anchored in rational biology design, these programs aim to deliver next-generation solutions for patient populations underserved by current standards of care.

"We sincerely appreciate the decisive and continued support from our investors within such a short timeframe," said Hui Feng, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AllinkBio. "With this support, we are moving forward with a clear clinical roadmap to accelerate our lead programs. Beyond the two leading programs, our discovery engine is fully activated, poised to deliver new wave of innovative drug candidates that will unlock further value in the foreseeable future ."

"Our continued support is rooted in our confidence in the AllinkBio team’s efficient execution and their robust development strategy," said Tan Hong, Managing Director at Legend Capital. "The rapid clinical advancement of their two competitive lead assets is already serving as a strong validation of the company’s ADC platform and presenting significant value. We look forward to the near-term clinical readouts and seeing more innovative programs emerge from their discovery platforms."

"The AllinkBio team pairs an international mindset with best-in-class execution, setting a remarkable pace in the ADC space," said Xuejing Guo, Managing Director and Head of Healthcare at Meituan Long-Z Investment. "We are deeply impressed by the potential of their technology platform and are excited to help the team translate these original innovations into global impact, ultimately delivering life-changing therapies to patients worldwide."

(Press release, Shanghai Allink Biotherapeutics, DEC 16, 2025, View Source [SID1234661466])

On December 16, 2025 Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) reported that members of its management team will participate at the following investor conference:

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Upcoming Investor Conference

44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on January 13, 2026
The presentation is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. PT (10:30 a.m. ET), with a Q&A session to follow at approximately 7:50 a.m. PT (10:50 a.m. ET).

The webcast can be accessed through the Events & Presentations section of Illumina’s website at investor.illumina.com. A replay will be archived on Illumina’s website for at least 30 days following the event.

(Press release, Illumina, DEC 16, 2025, View Source [SID1234661465])

On December 16, 2025 Inhibrx Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: INBX) ("Inhibrx" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapeutics for oncology reported an update on the INBRX-106 Phase 2/3 clinical trial in combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) as a first-line treatment for patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and the Phase 1/2 trial evaluating patients with checkpoint inhibitor refractory or relapsed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in combination with Keytruda. The Company also provided a brief progress update on the expansion cohorts investigating ozekibart in combination with FOLFIRI in late-line colorectal cancer and in combination with irinotecan and temozolomide in refractory Ewing sarcoma.

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INBRX-106

Inhibrx has recruited 46 of the 60 patients in the randomized Phase 2 portion of the Phase 2/3 clinical trial evaluating INBRX-106 in combination with Keytruda versus Keytruda as a first-line treatment for patients with unresectable or metastatic HNSCC. Inhibrx expects to complete enrollment in the Phase 2 portion of the trial during the first quarter of 2026. This trial is recruiting patients who have not received prior systemic therapy for unresectable or metastatic HNSCC and have tumor PD-L1 CPS expression equal to or greater than 20. Patients are randomized one to one to either INBRX-106 in combination with Keytruda or Keytruda. The primary endpoint of the Phase 2 portion of this trial is overall response rate, supported by secondary endpoints of duration of response, progression free survival and safety.

In November 2025, Inhibrx completed enrollment of the Phase 1/2 trial evaluating 34 patients in checkpoint inhibitor refractory or relapsed NSCLC in combination with Keytruda. Primary endpoints for this cohort are objective response rate, disease control rate, duration of response and safety.

The current datasets for both HNSCC and NSCLC lack sufficient maturity to support an interpretation and conclusion on the viability of this program. Inhibrx expects that in the second half of 2026, the data should be mature enough to inform whether INBRX-106, in combination with Keytruda, demonstrates superior efficacy and sustained clinical benefit relative to the current standard of care.

KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.

Ozekibart (INBRX-109)

In late October 2025, Inhibrx completed enrollment of 44 patients in the expansion cohort of the Phase 1/2 trial evaluating ozekibart in combination with FOLFIRI in heavily pretreated (third and fourth line) advanced or metastatic, unresectable colorectal cancer. As previously reported, ozekibart in combination with FOLFIRI was well tolerated, with durable responses and a high rate of disease control. The progression free survival data should be mature in the second quarter of 2026, and we plan to provide an update at that time.

Inhibrx expects to complete enrollment in the Phase 1/2 trial of ozekibart in combination with irinotecan and temozolomide (IRI/TMZ) for advanced or metastatic, unresectable, relapsed, or refractory Ewing sarcoma in the second quarter of 2026. If the current response and duration trends observed continue, Inhibrx plans to meet with the FDA in the second half of 2026 to discuss an accelerated approval pathway for this indication.

About INBRX-106

INBRX-106 is a precisely engineered hexavalent sdAb-based therapeutic candidate targeting OX40, designed to be an optimized agonist of this co-stimulatory receptor. It is currently being investigated in combination with Keytruda in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors, specifically HNSCC and NSCLC.

About ozekibart (INBRX-109)

Ozekibart is a precision-engineered, tetravalent death receptor 5 (DR5) agonist antibody designed to exploit the tumor-biased cell death induced by DR5 activation. Inhibrx read out a successful single agent registration study in chondrosarcoma and a BLA filing is expected in early Q2 of 2026. Additionally, Inhibrx is evaluating ozekibart in patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer and Ewing sarcoma.

(Press release, Inhibrx, DEC 16, 2025, View Source [SID1234661464])

On December 16, 2025 Harbour BioMed (HKEX: 02142), a global biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery and development of novel antibody therapeutics in immunology and oncology, reported a multi-year, global strategic collaboration and license agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb to discover and develop next-generation multi-specific antibodies.

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Under the terms of the agreement, Harbour BioMed will collaborate with Bristol Myers Squibb to advance and accelerate multi-specific antibody discovery programs. In return, Harbour BioMed could receive payments totaling $90 million, as well as development and commercial milestones of up to $1.035 billion, along with tiered royalties should Bristol Myers Squibb elect to advance all potential programs.

Jingsong Wang, MD, PhD, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Harbour BioMed, commented: "We are delighted to collaborate with Bristol Myers Squibb to advance next-generation multi-specific antibody discovery and development. This collaboration leverages our Harbour Mice fully human antibody technology platform, which facilitates the efficient discovery and development of innovative biologics with enhanced therapeutic potential. Furthermore, the collaboration offers the possibility to utilize our established development capabilities to accelerate programs by conducting early clinical trials in China. By uniting the strengths of our platform with Bristol Myers Squibb’s expertise in drug discovery and development, we look forward to progressing these programs and delivering transformative therapies to patients worldwide."

(Press release, Harbour BioMed, DEC 16, 2025, View Source [SID1234661463])