Words by Jade Williams
Evotec, a German drug development company, has joined forces with Novo Nordisk in a technology development partnership, set to advance the clinical and commercial manufacturing of stem cell-based therapies.
The collaboration will provide Evotec with significant funding for technology development in Germany and Italy, as well as additional support for R&D. This includes an undisclosed upfront payment, with potential milestone and royalty payments down the line.
Speaking in a press release, Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer, Evotec, said that “stem cell-based cell therapy is a promising approach to modulate and scale cell therapies to ultimately provide tailor-made, off-the-shelf cell therapies at reasonable costs”.
“By integrating our strengths, we are setting the stage for significant breakthroughs to more efficiently advance our cell therapies,” added Dr Joachim Fruebis, Corporate Vice President, Cell Therapy R&D, Novo Nordisk. “This partnership holds great promise, and I am confident it will lead to significant advancements in realising our full potential.”
While Novo Nordisk’s current exploration of stem cell therapies is still in its early stages, with a focus on diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, the partnership with Evotec aims to accelerate this research and unlock new treatment possibilities for patients.
Under the terms of the partnership, Novo Nordisk also has the option to secure exclusive rights to exploit the results of their joint work.
