The Sanofi — Evotec Alliance
Last October, we heard two experts discuss the governance structures and execution of the Sanofi-Evotec Alliance that was signed in December 2014. This innovative partnership proved to create many opportunities through its relationship, allowing these two firms to nurture and grow together. Giving an overview of the steps taken during the partnership process and a reflection on their first 18 months were Dominique Sonneville and David Hallett.
Dominique Sonneville has nearly 20 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry and joined Sanofi in January 1998. Since April 2015 she has been responsible for the partnership with Evotec. Dr. David Hallett has more than 20 years drug discovery expertise. Since 2015 he has constructed and is now leading an Alliance Management function within Evotec.
The Sanofi-Evotec Alliance was preceded with one year of discussions. In the summer of 2014, Evotec had around 700 employees, and were a drug discovery partnership and development partnership company whose major facilities (Hamburg & Abingdon) were near capacity. Thus they were under space pressure and were discussing ways to find additional capacity and scientific expertise. Sanofi were a global lifescience company engaged in research, development, manufacturing and marketing of healthcare solutions. Sanofi committed to maintaining a high level of scientific and technology activities on their Toulouse site. After various options were appraised, the Evotec Alliance option was announced in December 2014.
In terms of the components of the partnership, there are two major factors. Evotec gains the Research and Technology platform from Sanofi’s Tolouse site with their highly experiences personnel. The other component is the global, innovative strategic partnership arrangement, by which there are research collaborations, and out-licensing of Sanofi assets. As a large, multi-component strategic partnership, it presented a win-win for both corporations.
The pioneering partnership is made up of several agreements. One of the central pillars is the Master Services Agreement (MSA), allowing the full range of Sanofi’s Tolouse Site capabilities to Evotec. The MSA provides support and aided the transition from a Sanofi to Evotec facility, with each gaining intellectual property from the other. Another agreement is the academic bridge agreement, which creates a fund dedicated to academic scouting in France and the UK. Being the bridge from academia to pharma, Sanofi and Evotec benefit from the creating partnerships with academic institutions. Their research collaboration and license agreements involve TargetImmuniT, enhancing T-cell activity in cancer and a mechanism to promote innovation, and Beta Cell research into Beta cell replacement in insulin dependent diabetics.
The panelists reflected on the first 18 months of their alliance; from an Evotec perspective, the multi-component transaction brought them compound management, in vitro & in vivo oncology along with specific assets. They gained access to a large pool of very experienced scientists, as well as growth in the oncology portfolio. The Sanofi Tolouse site brought the ability to scale up the work that Evotec had previously been doing. From a Sanofi standpoint, there was a very successful handover of activities in Tolouse to Evotec. They had increased access to early innovation within various therapeutic areas, and flexibility in terms of access to the research and technology platforms.
Although the alliance formed took lots of time and effort to be put into effect, the transition was executed within 12 months. By making sure that Evotec employees could support the Sanofi employees globally, the firms are now able to build success together and venture into more areas than they could have separately. Gaining intellectual property from each other under the various agreements alongside the constant alliance management committess allows a forum by which the partnership can flourish.
Download the webinar and the accompanying slides here:
