Sanofi announces pact with Evotec to develop new diabetes treatments

Sanofi and Evotec have announced that they will be working together to develop new therapies for diabetes. Ultimately, they aim to remove the need for people with diabetes to inject insulin.
The research will focus on the modulation of beta cells, and how this can be best approached. Their researchers aim to develop a new kind of beta cell replacement therapy using human stem cells.
Sanofi will provide Evotec with payments based on the project’s success. The payments could end up being worth more than 300 million Euros.
It is not the first time the companies have worked together; the two are closely linked. Earlier this year, Evotec took over Sanofi’s operations in Toulouse, France, in a “strategic alliance” worth around 250 million euros.
“Combining Sanofi’s and Evotec’s beta cell and stem cell expertise in drug discovery and development will enable optimal exploitation of the potential of stem cell-derived human beta cells for therapy and drug screening in diabetes,” said Sanofi diabetes research head Dr. Philip Larsen.
“We are excited about the prospects of this collaboration as both companies provide highly complementary expertise to translate human stem cell technologies into highly innovative new products.”