Today, Novozymes and Novo Nordisk Pharmatech announce a collaboration agreement that combines the companies’ joint competencies and interests within the development of speciality enzymes for use in biopharma processing and regenerative medicines.

Today, enzymes used in biopharmaceutical processing make up a small part of the kr15bn market for speciality enzymes, with yearly expected growth rates in the high-single digits.

The demand for speciality enzymes is driven by the production of proteins and cells in the biopharmaceutical industry. Older production technologies are increasingly being replaced by enzymatic alternatives, particularly apparent for regenerative medicines, which additionally require high quality, pharmaceutical grade enzymes.

Together, Novozymes and Novo Nordisk Pharmatech, who both have a joint majority ownership by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, will develop such high-quality enzymatic processing aids for the regenerative medicines market, with a focus on stem cell and gene therapies.

“I am very excited about this collaboration, where synergies between the companies in the Novo Group will come into play and with the prospect of enabling scale-up of processes in the regenerative medicines market,” CEO of Novo Nordisk Pharmatech Ulla Grove Krogsgaard Thomsen says.

An initial product is expected to be brought to commercialization within a few years.

Synergies within the Novo Group 

Novozymes is one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies and the leader in the industrial enzyme market. The company brings extensive enzyme diversity, a large enzyme portfolio, a broad enzyme R&D platform, and strong fermentation capabilities to the collaboration. Previously, this combined, leading platform has not served the biopharmaceutical market directly.

Novo Nordisk Pharmatech A/S is a leading manufacturer of pharmaceutical ingredients that enable the production of better medicines. The company has recently invested in a purification plant for enzymes to facilitate the high-quality production of products within the biopharmaceutical industry. In this area, the company has a solid customer network from its existing Quats and Recombinant Insulin business in more than 70 countries.

“This collaboration reinforces a shared commitment to the development of specialty enzymes. Novo Nordisk Pharmatech brings market knowledge and the required production-quality capabilities, while Novozymes brings a large enzyme library and strong R&D competencies. Together, this positions us well to create new and innovative products for this market,” says Lotte Clemmen Christensen, VP, Corporate Strategy & New Business Development at Novozymes.

About Novozymes

Novozymes is the world leader in biological solutions. Together with customers, partners, and the global community, we improve industrial performance while preserving the planet’s resources and helping build better lives. As the world’s largest provider of enzyme and microbial technologies, our bioinnovation enables higher agricultural yields, low-temperature washing, energy-efficient production, renewable fuel, and many other benefits that we rely on today and in the future. We call it Rethink Tomorrow.