Platform-technology deals dominated this week's dealmaking, as drug delivery and discovery specialists licensed their proprietary systems to larger partners chasing next-generation metabolic and oncology medicines.

Nanexa licenses Pharmashell platform to Novo Nordisk

Nanexa AB entered into a global exclusive license and collaboration agreement with Novo Nordisk for the use of the Pharmashell technology platform for certain peptide-based drugs targeting obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other cardiometabolic indications.

As part fo the deal, Nanexa is eligible to receive total payments upwards of $1.33 billion, including $701 million in upfront payment and development and regulatory milestones, with the remaining milestone payments tied to sales.¹ Nanexa is also eligible to receive low single-digit royalties on global net sales of products developed under the agreement.¹

Under terms of the agreement, Novo is expected to receive a global license to use Nanexa's Pharmashell technology platform in up to five development programs.¹ The collaboration includes development of long-acting injectable formulations with different administration-frequency profiles, with monthly and quarterly administration as target profiles.

Pharmashell is Nanexa's proprietary atomic layer deposition-based drug delivery platform, designed to enable controlled and sustained release of active pharmaceutical ingredients through an ultra-thin inorganic coating applied to individual drug particles, intended to support differentiated long-acting injectable drugs that reduce dosing frequency and improve the treatment experience for people living with chronic metabolic or cardiovascular disease.¹

"We are very excited about and proud of this license agreement with Novo and look forward to working with them to successfully develop products with less frequent dosing in obesity and type 2 diabetes indications. Following our license and option agreement with Moderna in 2025, this agreement further strengthens the external validation of Pharmashell as a broadly applicable drug delivery platform and we believe this provides a strong foundation for expanding Pharmashell into additional therapeutic areas and to selectively advance additional internal programs towards clinical proof of concept, allowing us to capture greater value from the breadth of the Pharmashell platform," said David Westberg, CEO of Nanexa.

Earendil Labs partners with Genentech

Earendil Labs announced a research collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to discover and develop multiple therapeutic bispecific antibody programs in oncology.

Earendil Labs will receive a $55 million upfront payment, and the total potential value of the collaboration, including upfront, development, regulatory and sales milestone payments is expected to excess $1.5 billion.² Earendil Labs is also eligible to receive tiered royalties on net product sales.

Under the collaboration, Earendil Labs will lead antibody discovery and research through the early clinical development stage for antibody programs directed to certain pre-agreed target combinations, while Genentech will assume responsibility for subsequent global clinical development and commercialization of antibody programs arising from the collaboration.²

"Genentech is a pioneer in defining modern biologics cancer medicine. Earendil Labs is building an AI-driven high-throughput biology platform that effectively integrates AI directly into biologics research and development—from predictive protein modeling and generative protein design to rapid experimental validation. By combining our platform with Genentech's deep expertise in oncology drug development, we aim to accelerate the creation of differentiated bispecific antibodies and translate them into new medicines," said Jian Peng, PhD, CEO of Earendil Labs.

Atavistik Bio strikes CVRM discovery collaboration with Roche

Atavistik Bio entered into a strategic research collaboration with Roche to discover and develop novel small molecule therapeutics against multiple targets for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic diseases.

As part of the deal, Atavistik Bio is set to receive an upfront payment of $70 million and may be eligible to receive additional research, development, and commercial milestone payments of up to $1.9 billion, along with tiered royalties on future net sales of any approved medicines resulting from the collaboration.³

The collaboration will leverage Atavistik Bio's proprietary Amps drug discovery platform and expertise in allosteric drug discovery to identify novel functional binding pockets and advance selective small molecule therapeutics against targets for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic disease.³ By uncovering cryptic, biologically relevant binding pockets, Atavistik Bio's platform enables new approaches to develop differentiated small molecules against therapeutically important targets that have historically been challenging to modulate. Under the terms of the agreement, Atavistik Bio will be responsible for discovery and research activities for the collaboration targets, with Roche responsible for further preclinical and clinical development, regulatory, and commercialization activities.³

"We are pleased to partner with Roche, whose deep expertise in drug development makes them an ideal partner to extend the reach of our allosteric discovery platform," said Bryan Stuart, chief executive officer of Atavistik Bio. "This collaboration reflects the strength and broad applicability of our platform across therapeutic areas, further validating our approach to allosteric drug discovery. We are excited to extend the application of our platform into CVRM diseases by leveraging Roche's deep expertise in the field, while we remain focused internally on advancing a robust pipeline of potentially best-in-class therapies for patients with rare hematologic diseases."

Sources

1. Nanexa and Novo enter into EUR 1.165 billion global license and collaboration agreement for long-acting injectables Nanexa Septmeber 24, 2026, https://nanexa.com/mfn_news/nanexa-and-novo-enter-into-eur-1-165-billion-global-license-and-collaboration-agreement-for-long-acting-injectables/
2. Earendil Labs Announces Research Collaboration with Genentech to Discover and Develop Therapeutic Bispecific Antibodies in Oncology Earendil Labs September 24, 2026, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/earendil-labs-announces-research-collaboration-with-genentech-to-discover-and-develop-therapeutic-bispecific-antibodies-in-oncology-302888622.html
3. Atavistik Bio Announces Strategic Research Collaboration with Roche to Discover and Develop Novel Allosteric Therapeutics Atavistik September 24, 2026, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/09/24/3368181/0/en/atavistik-bio-announces-strategic-research-collaboration-with-roche-to-discover-and-develop-novel-allosteric-therapeutics.html