BioVersys AG and Shionogi & Co. have entered a global research collaboration and exclusive license option agreement to jointly develop clinical candidates from BioVersys’s BV500 non‑tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) programme, based on its proprietary ansamycin chemistry platform.

The deal includes CHF 5 million (approximately $6.27 million) in upfront and near‑term research funding to BioVersys. Following the identification of clinical candidates, Shionogi may exercise an option that could yield BioVersys up to CHF 479 million (approximately $603 million) in regulatory and sales milestone payments, along with royalties on future global sales. The BV500 NTM program, advanced by BioVersys research teams in Lille and Basel, has produced multiple highly potent, orally bioavailable lead compounds showing broad‑spectrum activity in vitro and in vivo against NTM, with no cross-resistance to existing treatments. The collaboration aims to accelerate the progression of these candidates and back-up molecules into clinical development. It builds on prior support, including public–private funding through the SmartLab–University of Lille partnership, CF AMR Syndicate, and the EU‑funded RespiriNTM programme.