Platform strategies are shaking up the biotech market: BioNxt, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Evotec

Evotec: All-inclusive package for research

The best-known platform company in the industry in Germany is Evotec. The Hamburg-based company's business model is based on conducting research and early development for pharmaceutical companies and biotech firms within the framework of collaborations. Instead of developing its own blockbuster drugs, Evotec earns revenue from research contracts, milestone payments, and a share of future revenues from jointly developed drugs. Over the years, Evotec has built up a broad network of alliances with big pharma and biotech startups. The Company operates an industry-wide platform: state-of-the-art laboratories, drug libraries, AI tools, and experienced scientists are available at all times to accelerate new projects as needed. Evotec currently has over 130 research programs in collaboration with partners in the pipeline. This diversified portfolio helps mitigate risks at the project level and also allows the Company to employ top scientists and experts.

Thermo Fisher Scientific – Biotech solutions for small and large companies

Thermo Fisher Scientific from the US is taking a different approach. The Company sees itself as a one-stop shop and aims to provide almost all the services and products that biotech companies need. The portfolio ranges from laboratory equipment and chemicals to analytical instruments and specialized services such as contract manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals and clinical study services. As an infrastructure provider, Thermo Fisher Scientific works with pharmaceutical multinationals as well as small biotech companies. To stay at the cutting edge of all technologies, Thermo Fisher regularly acquires new companies and expands its offering with new technologies.

BioNxt focuses on solutions that improve many active ingredients

While the entire biotech world is talking about immunotherapies, antibody-drug conjugates, and CRISPR technology, there is still room for improvement in more practical technologies as well. The German-Canadian start-up BioNxt, for example, has established a strong foothold in the field of dosage forms. Specifically, it focuses on how patients take in active ingredients, whether as tablets, creams, sublingual thin films, or patches. BioNxt has discovered that certain well-established active ingredients perform significantly better with new delivery methods. In some cases, it is possible to reduce the dosage because absorption is improved, side effects are reduced, or the active ingredient provides sustained rather than immediate release. The latter applies to active ingredient patches, for example.

BioNxt recently reported progress in the development of its rotigotine patch, an innovative dosage form for the well-known active ingredient for Parkinson's disease. The Company sees clear advantages in administering rotigotine via patches, and recent research increasingly supports this approach. For BioNxt, the latest result was therefore an important step toward commercialization. One of the key benefits of innovative dosage forms is that they can be solutions for different active ingredients. Although the use of a new dosage form also requires clinical validation, the process is typically less extensive than the approval of a completely new active ingredient. In addition to the rotigotine patch, BioNxt is also developing melt films for the MS drug cladribine, designed to be placed under the tongue. In this area, the Company recently received initial positive feedback from the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO). Converting new technology into patents is crucial so that BioNxt can license its technology and turn it into revenue streams.

BioNxt has the edge over the big players – Mini valuation, Major opportunity

The platform economy benefits the entire biotech industry: service and infrastructure providers such as Thermo Fisher Scientific and Evotec take the pressure off companies, contribute expertise from hundreds of projects, and guarantee lean costs. Smaller companies such as BioNxt can focus fully on their lucrative niches and market their technology to a large number of potential partners. Companies like BioNxt also offer investors considerable potential for value appreciation – whether through groundbreaking products, licensing deals or acquisitions by larger players. Current biotech trends, such as outsourcing and specialized technology platforms, suggest that pharmaceutical research will continue to be based on a division of labor in the future. Those who have players in their portfolio that offer links to many areas and are still moderately valued stand to benefit. While Thermo Fisher Scientific and Evotec are worth billions on the stock market, BioNxt, with a market capitalization of around EUR 73 million, offers speculative investors promising leverage.