LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Feb. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ADC Therapeutics SA (NYSE: ADCT), a commercial-stage global leader and pioneer in the field of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), today announced that it has entered into an amendment to its royalty purchase agreement with entities managed by HealthCare Royalty.
Based on confidence in the long-term outlook for ZYNLONTA®, ADC Therapeutics negotiated mutually beneficial updated terms with HealthCare Royalty, offering greater strategic flexibility to the Company. The new agreement reduces the change of control payment from $750 million to $150 million through the end of 2027, and to $200 million thereafter. In the event of a change of control, HealthCare Royalty will continue to receive royalties on sales by the acquirer until the original royalty cap is reached. In return, HealthCare Royalty has been granted warrants to purchase approximately 9.8 million common shares, with an exercise price of $3.81 per share. These warrants are exercisable until December 31, 2030, and are subject to a lock-up through the end of 2027.
“We are pleased by this meaningful amendment to the terms of our partnership with HealthCare Royalty, based on our shared conviction in ZYNLONTA’s potential, as it enables greater strategic flexibility for our Company,” said Ameet Mallik, Chief Executive Officer of ADC Therapeutics. “With a robust and growing body of evidence, including multiple expected data readouts this year across our clinical programs supporting the best-in-class potential of ZYNLONTA, we anticipate meaningful growth beginning in 2027. Assuming compendia inclusion and regulatory approval, potential peak revenue in the US could reach $600 million to $1 billion annually.”
“This updated agreement is a result of our belief in the long-term upside of ZYNLONTA,” said Clarke Futch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HealthCare Royalty. “The combination of existing and upcoming ZYNLONTA data in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and other indolent lymphomas has enhanced our confidence in the Company’s focused portfolio, which we believe will unlock significant value.”
HealthCare Royalty had previously provided $300 million of funding under the original agreement and, conditional upon the occurrence of a change of control event, ADC Therapeutics was obligated to buy out the remaining royalty obligations for $750 million (or $675 million if HealthCare Royalty receives specified minimum royalty payments before March 31, 2029), less the amount of royalties previously paid to HealthCare Royalty.
Under the amendment:
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- Upon the occurrence of a change of control event, ADC Therapeutics is obligated to pay HealthCare Royalty $150 million (if the change of control event occurs on or before December 31, 2027) or $200 million (if the change of control event occurs on or after January 1, 2028), which amount is not reduced by the amount of royalties previously paid to HealthCare Royalty.
- Following any such change of control, the royalty obligations under the royalty purchase agreement will continue to be paid up to the original royalty cap, unless ADC Therapeutics (or its successor in interest) buys out the remaining royalty obligations by paying HealthCare Royalty $525 million (if the buyout occurs on or prior to December 31, 2029) or $750 million (if the buyout occurs on or after January 1, 2030), less the amount of royalties previously paid to HealthCare Royalty and the change of control payment described above.
About ZYNLONTA®
ZYNLONTA® is a CD19-directed antibody drug conjugate (ADC). Once bound to a CD19-expressing cell, ZYNLONTA is internalized by the cell, where enzymes release a pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) payload. The potent payload binds to DNA minor groove with little distortion, remaining less visible to DNA repair mechanisms. This ultimately results in cell cycle arrest and tumor cell death.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have approved ZYNLONTA (loncastuximab tesirine-lpyl) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (r/r) large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified (NOS), DLBCL arising from low-grade lymphoma and also high-grade B-cell lymphoma. The trial included a broad spectrum of heavily pre-treated patients (median three prior lines of therapy) with difficult-to-treat disease, including patients who did not respond to first-line therapy, patients refractory to all prior lines of therapy, patients with double/triple hit genetics and patients who had stem cell transplant and CAR-T therapy prior to their treatment with ZYNLONTA. This indication is approved by the FDA under accelerated approval and in the European Union under conditional approval based on overall response rate and continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial. Please see full prescribing information including important safety information about ZYNLONTA at www.ZYNLONTA.com.
About ADC Therapeutics
ADC Therapeutics (NYSE: ADCT) is a commercial-stage global leader and pioneer in the field of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), transforming treatment for patients through our focused portfolio with ZYNLONTA (loncastuximab tesirine-lpyl).
ADC Therapeutics’ CD19-directed ADC ZYNLONTA received accelerated approval by the FDA and conditional approval from the European Commission for the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy. ZYNLONTA is also in development in combination with other agents and in earlier lines of therapy.
Headquartered in Lausanne (Biopôle), Switzerland, with operations in New Jersey, ADC Therapeutics is focused on driving innovation in ADC development with specialized capabilities from clinical to manufacturing and commercialization. Learn more at adctherapeutics.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “would”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “seem”, “seek”, “future”, “continue”, or “appear” or the negative of these terms or similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those described. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: whether future LOTIS-7 clinical trial results will be consistent with or different from the LOTIS-7 data presented by the Company on December 3, 2025, the timing, publication and outcome of the full LOTIS-7 trial, compendia inclusion and regulatory strategy and the commercial opportunity; the timing of the PFS events and topline data release for LOTIS-5 and the results of the trial, the timing for the sBLA submission and full FDA approval; the Company’s ability to grow ZYNLONTA® revenue in the United States and potential peak revenue; the ability of our partners to commercialize ZYNLONTA® in foreign markets, the timing and amount of future revenue and payments to us from such partnerships and their ability to obtain regulatory approval for ZYNLONTA® in foreign jurisdictions; the timing and results of the Company’s clinical trials; the timing, publication and results of investigator-initiated trials including those studying FL and MZL and the potential regulatory and/or compendia strategy and the future opportunity; the timing and outcome of regulatory submissions for the Company’s products or product candidates; actions by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities; projected revenue and expenses; the Company’s indebtedness, including HealthCare Royalty Management and Blue Owl and Oaktree facilities, and the restrictions imposed on the Company’s activities by such indebtedness, the ability to comply with the terms of the various agreements and repay such indebtedness and the significant cash required to service such indebtedness; and the Company’s ability to obtain financial and other resources for its research, development, clinical, and commercial activities; and the uncertainties of international trade policies, including tariffs, sanctions, trade barriers and most favored nation drug pricing and the potential impact they may have on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Additional information concerning these and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements is contained in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and in the Company’s other periodic and current reports and filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, achievements or prospects to be materially different from any future results, performance, achievements or prospects expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this document.
CONTACTS:
Investors and Media
Nicole Riley
ADC Therapeutics
[email protected]
+1 862-926-9040
SOURCE ADC Therapeutics SA
