Evotec AG has licensed a portfolio of small molecules and biologics designed to trigger the regeneration of insulin-producing beta cells to Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals. The compounds were identified by Harvard University scientists in Douglas Melton’s lab and further analyzed in collaboration with Evotec as part of an R&D program with CureBeta.
 
Evotec will receive $8 million upfront and is eligible to receive certain preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments of as much as $200 million to $300 million, per product. Janssen will also pay royalties on future sales of any products that result from the collaboration. Evotec will receive additional research support for discovery and early development work conducted in collaboration with Janssen.
 
Dr. Cord Dohrmann, chief scientific officer of Evotec, said, “Our collaboration with Doug Melton’s lab has been extremely successful on multiple levels. We have not only achieved our scientific goals of creating a superior beta cell drug discovery platform and generating a deep pipeline of novel and exciting targets, but we have also established a new model of collaboration between academia and industry that has proven highly efficient and effective in accelerating innovative scientific development. Janssen Pharmaceuticals perfectly complements this effort, bringing in world-leading pharmaceutical development expertise as well as the necessary resources to execute on our mission to produce first-in-class therapeutics.”