Amgen Inc. is tapping Nuevolution AB's Chemetics discovery platform to identify multiple small-molecule cancer and neurology candidates for difficult-to-drug targets.

The collaboration, Nuevolution's first post-IPO partnership, could reward the Swedish company with up to $410 million in research, development and commercial milestones per target.

With signature pages from the agreement just exchanged Tuesday morning, it gives Nuevolution, a small but active discovery operation, a plum prize to showcase at its shareholder meeting today in Stockholm and a significant 29.8 percent share bump. The stock (NASDAQ:NUE.ST) closed at SEK12.85 (US$1.49) on Monday.

The deal, in which Nuevolution will carry early research responsibilities, provides Amgen an exclusive option to obtain all rights to each program at any point for a license fee and milestones. Following target identification, Amgen will take over preclinical safety, clinical development and potential commercialization of each program. Nuevolution could receive tiered royalties on future sales if successful products emerge.

"DNA-encoded screening platforms such as Nuevolution's allow for rapid screening of billions of compounds to help bring important therapies to the clinic faster and with increased precision," said Alexander Kamb, Amgen's senior vice president of discovery research.

The deal could also potentially lead to faster cycle times and reduced costs, key strategic goals R&D chief Sean Harper has set for the Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based company.

At the core of the deal is Nuevolution's Chemetics drug discovery platform, which is driving Nuevolution's pursuit of both its own programs, such as ROR-gamma T inhibitors for the potential treatment of immune and inflammatory disorders, and early stage programs for partners like Amgen. Prior to Amgen, it had attracted 15 drug discovery partnerships with companies including Novartis AG, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH and Janssen Biotech Inc. (with which another project is likely to start with the next five months). (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 21, 2011.)

A number of the targets in the Amgen deal "have already been specified by identity," Nuevolution's CEO Alex Haahr Gouliaev told investors during a conference call held Monday. Though he declined to say how many targets the deal includes, he allowed that the reason for multitarget coverage was that "both parties know that, even with access to Nuevolution's platform, science is challenging, science can fail and therefore some of these programs may also fail. Therefore, by having more programs, both parties can optimize the conditions for having a successful collaboration and hopefully finding one or more successful programs."

Nuevolution was founded in May 2001 in Copenhagen. The company joined the Nasdaq First North Premier in Stockholm in December 2015, raising about SEK250 million (US$29 million). As of June 30, it reported having net cash of SEK201.3 million.

Gouliaev said Monday that while the Amgen deal would impact the number of new programs that the company is able to initiate on its own due to capacity constraints, it would neither affect the company's burn rate nor its development of its own programs.

"For both companies, this is a win-win agreement," he said.