While the companies did not reveal the financial details of the deal, Novo Nordisk will provide funding for two Evotec sites in Germany and Italy to support the development of next-generation cell therapies.
Novo Nordisk and German biotech Evotec announced Thursday that they have entered into a technology development agreement to advance off-the-shelf, stem cell-based therapies.
Details of the deal were scant. According to the announcement, Novo will make an upfront payment to Evotec of an “undisclosed” amount, as well as additional R&D funding to support technology development activities at Evotec’s R&D and manufacturing sites in Germany and Italy. The biotech will also be eligible for potential milestone and royalty payments.
The partners also did not specify which indications they plan to go after, only announcing that they will work on “next-generation off-the-shelf cell therapy products.” In return for its investments, Novo will have the option to secure exclusive rights to use results obtained under the partnership “for a pre-defined therapeutic area.”
Joachim Fruebis, corporate vice president of cell therapy R&D at Novo Nordisk, said in a statement that Evotec can help the pharma “bring cutting-edge stem cell-based therapies to patients more efficiently” and set the stage “for significant breakthroughs” in advanced technologies.
“This partnership holds great promise, and I am confident it will lead to significant advancements in realizing our full potential,” Fruebis said.
The Evotec deal could potentially expand Novo’s cell therapy portfolio, which includes an early-stage Parkinson’s disease candidate. The investigational treatment, dubbed STEM-PD, makes use of immature cells that can mature into dopamine-producing neurons. STEM-PD is designed to be transplanted directly into the brain with the goal of restoring normal levels of dopamine production.
In April 2023, Novo signed a potential $2.6 billion contract with Aspect Biosystems to develop a cellular approach to type 1 diabetes. Going beyond simple cell therapy, the partnership aims to create 3D, biologically functional tissue therapeutics containing insulin-producing cells. These constructs are meant to be implanted into the pancreas.
For Evotec, the Novo contract could help it regain some financial stability amid a difficult first half of the year. Last month, the biotech laid off 400 workers, or around 8% of its global workforce. At the time, the company announced that revenue in the first six months of 2024 was down 7% year-over-year, with CEO Christian Wojczewski saying that profitability has been “more challenging” for Evotec than expected.
In addition to Novo, Evotec has also partnered with Bristol Myers Squibb. Evotec’s original agreement was with Celgene, which BMS acquired in 2019 for $74 billion. In 2023, the pharma put $4 billion on the line for an expanded contract, giving it access to Evotec’s induced pluripotent stem cell platform.
Last month, Evotec announced that it hit a milestone under this partnership, triggering a $25 million payment from BMS.
