Codexis, Inc., a developer of biocatalysts for the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries, has signed biocatalyst technology license agreement with Merck & Co. Inc. 

Under the agreement, Codexis has granted Merck a non-exclusive license to use Codexis’ proprietary CodeEvolver protein engineering platform technology to develop enzymes for use in the manufacture of Merck’s pharmaceutical products. Upon completion of the technology transfer, a Codexis’ CodeEvolver protein engineering platform will be located at a Merck research site.This transaction marks the second CodeEvolver licensing agreement between Codexis and a major pharmaceutical company and advances the technology’s business model of multiple sources of revenue.

Codexis is eligible to receive up to $18 million over approximately the next 15 to 24 months, $5 million of which will be paid upon the signing of this agreement and an additional $13 million subject to the satisfactory completion of certain technology transfer milestones. Codexis will also be eligible to receive payments of up to maximum of $15 million for each pharmaceutical ingredient using novel enzymes developed by Merck using the CodeEvolver technology and used for commercial manufacturing purposes.

Source: Codexis