The new name and identity signifies a new phase of growth for the company and the agreement with US-based Regeneron is worth up to 900 million USD.

The multi-target license and collaboration agreement with Regeneron includes five distinct programs, three within cancer and two within infectious diseases. Each of these may include several vaccine candidates, all of which being eligible for milestone and royalty payments. The vaccines will combine Regeneron’s antigen selection expertise and VelociSuite in vivo models with Nykode Therapeutics’ modular vaccine platform and expertise in vaccine design. Nykode Therapeutics will be responsible for vaccine generation and characterization, as well as product supply through the end of Phase 1 trials. Regeneron will be responsible for antigen identification, preclinical and clinical development, manufacturing (from the end of Phase 1 trials) and commercialization.

A 30 million USD upfront payment

Under the terms of the agreement, Nykode Therapeutics will receive a USD 30 million upfront payment and a USD 20 million equity investment at a premium of 20% on a 30-day volume weighted average price of the Nykode Therapeutics share for the last 30 trading days before the effective date of the agreement. Additionally, Nykode Therapeutics will potentially be eligible to receive more than USD 875 million in milestone payments, plus high single-digit to low double-digit tiered royalties on sales of commercialized products arising from the collaboration, bringing the total potential value of the agreement to more than USD 925 million, plus royalties. Regeneron will cover costs for research, as well as potential clinical, regulatory, manufacturing and commercialization activities.

“Nykode Therapeutics will potentially be eligible to receive more than USD 875 million in milestone payments, plus high single-digit to low double-digit tiered royalties on sales of commercialized products arising from the collaboration, bringing the total potential value of the agreement to more than USD 925 million, plus royalties.”

“The agreement further validates Nykode Therapeutics’ position as a leading next-generation immunotherapy platform company. We are thrilled about the choice of programs and their therapeutic potential within cancer, and prophylactic and therapeutic potential within infectious diseases,” says Michael Engsig, CEO of Nykode Therapeutics.

The new name is inspired by its Norwegian roots

Nykode Therapeutics (formerly Vaccibody) has also announced that the company is changing its name to reflect its development and mark a milestone in our journey of growth and transformation, it states.

The new company name is inspired by its Norwegian roots and links to its platform’s modularity. Nykode translates as ‘new code’, playing on the potential of our technology to generate novel codes and create innovative patient therapies, states the company.

“The challenge of changing our name was to consolidate everything we have achieved to date with our future plans to expand, and combine this into a powerful new brand. We have shown that we can generate novel molecules by combining multiple different genes or codes to generate new medicines with unique properties. We will build further on this know-how, driven by our guiding purpose to push the boundaries of human advancement by rethinking conventional drug design. We want to express how our platform’s intelligent modular design and tailored hyper targeting may deliver game-changing medicines for patients. This vision aims to create innovative therapies and continues to broaden our reach into multiple therapeutic areas, both with and without our partners. In essence, we believe that our new name, Nykode, uniquely captures our progress and possibilities,” says Agnete B. Fredriksen, Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer of Nykode Therapeutics.

Photo of Michael Engsig and Agnete Fredriksen: Vaccibody