Halozyme Expands ENHANZE Technology Through Strategic Partnerships with Takeda and Skye Bioscience
Key Insights
Halozyme secured two major licensing agreements in December 2025, providing Takeda (search) exclusive access to ENHANZE (search) technology for vedolizumab development and Skye Bioscience non-exclusive rights for nimacimab obesity (search) treatment.
The Takeda (search) collaboration aims to enhance vedolizumab delivery for inflammatory bowel disease (search) patients, while the Skye partnership targets the growing obesity (search) market with higher-dose subcutaneous formulations.
Both agreements include upfront payments and milestone-based royalties, with Skye planning to initiate a Phase 2b obesity (search) trial in mid-2026 combining nimacimab with GLP-1 receptor (search) agonists.
Halozyme Therapeutics has announced two significant licensing agreements that expand the reach of its ENHANZE (search) drug delivery technology into new therapeutic areas and strengthen existing partnerships. The San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company entered into collaborations with Takeda (search) and Skye Bioscience in December 2025, positioning ENHANZE technology to address unmet needs in inflammatory bowel disease (search) and obesity (search) treatment.
Takeda Partnership Targets IBD Treatment Enhancement
The global collaboration with Takeda (search) provides exclusive access to Halozyme's ENHANZE (search) drug delivery technology for vedolizumab, marketed globally as ENTYVIO. This partnership aims to enhance treatment options for patients with ulcerative colitis (search) and Crohn's disease (search), the two main forms of inflammatory bowel disease (search) (IBD).
"Our collaboration with Takeda (search) reflects our ongoing commitment to delivering innovative solutions that enhance the patient experience, with the goal of helping patients spend less time managing their therapy and more time living their lives," said Dr. Helen Torley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Halozyme.
Robert Hollowell, M.D., Head of Global Product and Launch Strategy, GI and Inflammation at Takeda (search), emphasized the clinical significance: "People living with ulcerative colitis (search) and Crohn's disease (search), as well as their health care providers, need flexible treatment options that match evolving needs and priorities in disease management."
The collaboration addresses a growing medical need, as more than 10 million people across the globe are estimated to be living with IBD within the next decade. Vedolizumab is currently approved for intravenous and subcutaneous administration in adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease (search) or ulcerative colitis (search), with approvals varying by market.
Obesity Market Entry Through Skye Collaboration
Simultaneously, Halozyme entered a non-exclusive global collaboration with Skye Bioscience to develop a subcutaneous formulation of nimacimab for obesity (search) treatment. This partnership specifically targets the evaluation of higher nimacimab subcutaneous doses through delivery of larger injection volumes.
"Our collaboration with Skye Bioscience expands the reach of our ENHANZE (search) technology into the growing obesity (search) market, a therapeutic area with significant long-term potential," said Dr. Torley. "This agreement reinforces the scalability of ENHANZE across diverse indications and supports our strategy to drive sustainable royalty growth with new partnerships and innovations."
Punit Dhillon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Skye, outlined the strategic rationale: "To fully evaluate nimacimab's potential, we need to test higher doses and we need a practical way to deliver them subcutaneously. Partnering with Halozyme to co-formulate nimacimab with ENHANZE (search) gives us a validated approach to evaluate multiple dose-ranging strategies, including in combination with GLP-1 receptor (search) agonists."
Clinical Development Timeline and Financial Terms
Skye is planning to initiate a Phase 2b clinical trial in obesity (search) for nimacimab with ENHANZE (search) in the middle of 2026. This study will also assess the combination of nimacimab and a GLP-1 receptor (search) agonist, representing a novel approach to obesity treatment.
Under the Takeda (search) agreement terms, the company will make an upfront payment to Halozyme, along with potential future development and commercial milestone payments. Halozyme will be entitled to up to low-mid single digit royalties on sales of products containing vedolizumab in combination with ENHANZE (search).
The Skye collaboration includes milestone payments tied to achievement of certain development and commercialization events, with Halozyme entitled to mid-single digit royalties on net sales of nimacimab developed with ENHANZE (search) for at least 10 years.
ENHANZE Technology Platform Success
ENHANZE (search) drug delivery technology utilizes the proprietary recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20 enzyme (rHuPH20) to facilitate subcutaneous delivery of injected drugs and fluids, reducing treatment burden and improving convenience. The technology has demonstrated broad commercial success, touching more than one million patient lives through ten commercialized products across over 100 global markets.
The technology is currently licensed to leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including Roche, Takeda (search), Pfizer, Janssen, AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, argenx, ViiV Healthcare, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Acumen Pharmaceuticals, and Merus N.V.
Expanding Technology Portfolio
Beyond ENHANZE (search), Halozyme is developing Hypercon, an innovative microparticle technology expected to set new standards in hyper concentration of drugs and biologics. This technology can reduce injection volume for the same dosage and expand opportunities for at-home and healthcare provider administration. Hypercon has been licensed to Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, and argenx.
The company also develops, manufactures, and commercializes drug-device combination products using advanced auto-injector technologies, with two proprietary commercial products, Hylenex and XYOSTED, and ongoing development programs with Teva Pharmaceuticals and McDermott Laboratories Limited.