MacroGenics Secures $60M in Expanded ZYNYZ Royalty Deal with Sagard

ROCKVILLE, MD – May 04, 2026 – Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company MacroGenics, Inc. today announced a significant expansion of its royalty purchase agreement with Sagard Healthcare Partners, securing an immediate $60 million in non-dilutive capital. The deal, centered on the cancer therapeutic ZYNYZ® (retifanlimab-dlwr), also makes MacroGenics eligible for an additional sales-based milestone payment of up to $20 million in 2026.

This transaction deepens a financial partnership that began less than a year ago, highlighting a growing trend in the biopharma industry where companies leverage future revenue streams from approved drugs to fund ongoing research and development. For MacroGenics, the cash infusion provides substantial financial flexibility to advance its proprietary pipeline of antibody-based cancer treatments in a capital-intensive and competitive market.

A Strategic Financial Maneuver

The agreement represents the second major royalty transaction between the two parties. In June 2025, MacroGenics received an initial $70 million upfront payment from Sagard. With this new expansion, the total upfront capital received from Sagard for ZYNYZ royalties now stands at $130 million. This strategic financing comes at a crucial time, reinforcing the company's balance sheet without diluting shareholder equity—a key consideration in the often-volatile biotech sector.

As of December 31, 2025, MacroGenics reported cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $189.9 million, with a projected cash runway extending into late 2027. The additional $60 million from Sagard significantly strengthens this position, providing a longer runway to fund critical clinical trials for its pipeline candidates, including lorigerlimab. The company's recent financial performance has also been positive, with fourth-quarter 2025 revenues and earnings per share both surpassing analyst expectations.

Under the terms of the amended agreement, Sagard's royalty interest is capped. All royalty rights on global net sales of ZYNYZ will fully revert to MacroGenics once Sagard has received payments equal to 1.7 times its total investment by September 30, 2032, or 2.0 times its investment at any point thereafter. This structure allows MacroGenics to monetize a portion of its asset's future value now while retaining the long-term upside. The company also keeps its other economic interests tied to ZYNYZ, including potential future development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments from its partner, Incyte Corporation.

Underpinned by ZYNYZ's Rising Commercial Momentum

The confidence from both MacroGenics and Sagard is largely fueled by the strong commercial performance and expanding market access for ZYNYZ. Originally developed by MacroGenics, the PD-1 inhibitor is licensed to and marketed by Incyte. It targets specific, challenging cancers, having gained its first accelerated FDA approval in March 2023 for metastatic or recurrent locally advanced Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC).

More recently, the drug has demonstrated significant promise in another rare but aggressive cancer. Incyte reported ZYNYZ net sales of $41 million for the first quarter of 2026, a figure that handily beat consensus estimates. This performance was largely attributed to what Incyte described as a "rapid and robust adoption" of the drug in its new indication for squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCAC).

The drug's potential in SCAC was further solidified by key international approvals. In late 2025, both Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the European Commission approved ZYNYZ as a first-line treatment for adult patients with metastatic or inoperable locally recurrent SCAC. These new markets are expected to be significant growth drivers, bolstering the likelihood that the sales-based milestone of up to $20 million will be achieved this year. While not projected to become a multi-billion-dollar blockbuster like some of its PD-1 inhibitor predecessors, industry analysts forecast that ZYNYZ could achieve peak annual sales between $300 million and $500 million within the next five years, establishing it as a highly valuable asset.

Royalty Deals as a Modern Financing Tool

The MacroGenics-Sagard partnership exemplifies the increasing sophistication of biotech financing. Royalty monetization has become an essential tool for companies to unlock the value of their commercial assets to fund high-risk, high-reward research. For an investment firm like Sagard, which has a dedicated healthcare strategy, these deals offer stable, uncorrelated returns based on the sales of medically necessary products.

Sagard Healthcare Partners has a formidable track record in this specialized field, having invested over $1 billion in royalties for innovative drugs such as Jemperli, Tibsovo, and Hemgenix since its inception. The firm's decision to double down on its ZYNYZ investment serves as a powerful third-party validation of the drug's clinical utility and commercial trajectory. This model provides a win-win scenario: the investor gains access to a de-risked revenue stream from an approved product, while the biopharma company secures immediate, non-dilutive funds to fuel its next wave of innovation.

Navigating the Crowded Oncology Field

ZYNYZ operates in the highly competitive immuno-oncology landscape, dominated by giants like Merck’s Keytruda and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo. In its indication for Merkel cell carcinoma, it competes directly with established therapies, including Merck KGaA and Pfizer's Bavencio (avelumab) and Keytruda (pembrolizumab) itself. The market for PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors is characterized by intense competition and a race to expand into new indications and earlier lines of therapy.

However, ZYNYZ's success hinges on its ability to carve out and dominate specific niches where there remains a significant unmet medical need. Its strong uptake and recent global approvals in SCAC demonstrate a successful execution of this strategy. By focusing on these less-crowded, high-need indications, MacroGenics and Incyte are building a durable commercial franchise. The expanded royalty deal with Sagard is a clear bet that this strategy will continue to pay off, providing MacroGenics with the financial firepower it needs to develop the next generation of cancer therapies while ZYNYZ solidifies its place in the market.