Making Biologics Orally Available With Vivtex's Thomas von Erlach, Ph.D.

What It Covers

Thomas von Erlach, PhD, cofounder and CEO of Vivtex, describes how his MIT-spun company uses ex vivo GI tissue screening, computational modeling, and AI to create orally available biologics, culminating in a $2.1 billion partnership with Novo Nordisk targeting obesity, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases.

Key Questions Answered

• •Stealth-mode validation: Vivtex spent roughly seven years validating its platform before raising its public profile, deliberately avoiding announcements until the technology could reliably produce commercially viable solid dosage formulations. For biotech founders, this approach reduces the risk of overpromising to partners and then having to backtrack when the platform's actual capabilities become clearer.
• •Non-dilutive pharma revenue: By securing approximately 10 pharma co-development partnerships early, Vivtex reached revenue-positive status without heavy reliance on venture capital. Founders should pursue select industry collaborations as a funding strategy, but limit early partners to a manageable number — von Erlach cautions against taking on 10 simultaneously while still refining the platform.
• •Trust-building through scientific transparency: The Novo Nordisk deal, worth up to $2.1 billion, grew from years of presenting data — including failures — at conferences and maintaining close ties with Novo's scientific team. Founders can accelerate partnership timelines by consistently sharing longitudinal progress publicly rather than only approaching potential partners with polished, final results.
• •In-house execution over CRO reliance: Vivtex keeps all screening, computational analysis, and solid dosage prototyping internal because external CROs cannot match the pace a survival-motivated small team maintains. When a company's existence depends on solving problems quickly, outsourcing critical platform work introduces delays that compound across multiple partner programs simultaneously.
• •Licensing structure with big pharma: Under the Novo Nordisk agreement, Vivtex licenses its existing formulation technologies and screening capabilities — including molecular dynamics simulation and AI-driven predictive modeling — while Novo retains full responsibility for development and commercialization. Smaller biotechs negotiating similar deals should benchmark terms against multiple simultaneous term sheets to accurately gauge real market value.