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Exosomes are extracellular vesicles (EVs) of endosomal origin that range in size between 30 and 150 nanometers. Exosomes are secreted by a wide range of cells, with virtually all living cells utilize exosome-mediated communication. Today, exosomes are being explored across a diverse range of therapeutic and diagnostic applications, with particular attention being given by the pharmaceutical industry to drug-loaded exosomes.
Already, three pharmaceutical companies—Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Roche, and Boehringer Ingelheim—have signed partnership deals with exosome companies with royalties and milestone payments structured to deliver at or around $1 billion dollars.
The following is the list of strategic partnerships executed between exosome companies and their biotech and pharmaceutical partners.
Exosome Industry Partnerships
The partnerships described below demonstrate surging demand for exosome technologies, as well as the high price tags industry partners are willing to pay in order to secure access. The partnerships are listed in chronological order, from most recent to least recent.
TEC and Toyota Holdings Establish Japan Exosome Corporation
In October 2025, Taiwan Exosome Company (TEC) and Toyota Holdings (Japan) established a joint entity, Japan Exosome Corporation, combining TEC’s exosome and NK cell technologies with Toyota’s biomedical investment and infrastructure capabilities.
This alignment is aimed at fostering R&D, manufacturing, and clinical translation across Asia. The joint venture will focus on regenerative medicine, immunotherapy, and drug delivery applications, leveraging Toyota’s industrial process expertise to achieve scalable, GMP-compliant exosome manufacturing in Japan.
Rion and Lonza
In September 2025, RION entered a manufacturing partnership with Lonza, bringing on Lonza’s cGMP infrastructure to scale production of RION’s Purified Exosome Product™ (PEP™) candidate. Under this agreement, Lonza will manufacture the drug substance at their facility in Houston to support late-phase clinical trials and commercial supply. The collaboration marks one of the first large-scale industrial manufacturing efforts for an exosome-based therapeutic, highlighting Lonza’s growing investment in advanced biologics and RION’s preparation for pivotal trials targeting tissue regeneration and wound healing.
Mdxhealth acquired Exosome Diagnostics
In August 2025, Mdxhealth acquired Exosome Diagnostics, a business unit of Bio-Techne, bringing that exosome diagnostics platform into its portfolio. This deal underscores strategic consolidation in the exosome/biomarker space. It expands Mdxhealth’s liquid biopsy offerings by adding the ExoDx™ Prostate Test and other RNA-based exosomal assays, strengthening its position in precision oncology and early cancer detection markets.
RoosterBio and Thermo Fisher Scientific
In April 2025, RoosterBio, Inc. formed a collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific to combine RoosterBio’s MSC and exosome process expertise with Thermo Fisher’s GMP manufacturing and CDMO capabilities. This alliance is intended to accelerate the production timeline for cell and exosome therapies, integrating upstream MSC expansion, downstream purification, and drug product manufacturing. The partnership also aims to standardize scalable workflows and supply chains across the exosome industry, making clinical and commercial manufacturing more predictable and cost-efficient.
NurExone Biologics Secured a Master Cell Bank
In January 2025, NurExone Biologic acquired a U.S. master cell bank to strengthen its supply chain for exosome therapeutic development. The cell bank provides a validated and consistent source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the company’s proprietary ExoTherapy™ platform, which delivers exosomes intranasally to promote neural regeneration following spinal cord injuries.
This milestone supports NurExone’s long-term regulatory strategy and its transition toward clinical-grade exosome production under GMP conditions.
Lonza and Exosomics
In November 2021, Lonza, a global CDMO, announced the acquisition of Exosomics srl’ service-unit (formerly Exosomics) in order to expand its exosome bioprocessing capabilities and to strengthen its position in the exosome-therapeutics supply chain. Under this move, Lonza inherited specialized isolation and purification technologies for extracellular vesicles, enabling the firm to offer GMP-grade exosome manufacturing services to biotech and pharma customers.
This deal underscores the increasing recognition by large CDMOs that exosome therapeutics are moving toward scale (not just earlier research) and reflects the service-infrastructure build-up necessary for commercial translation.
Exopharm and CureDuchenne
In 2021 Exopharm formed a collaboration with CureDuchenne to develop exosome-based therapeutics for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
Although the detailed financial terms were not disclosed publicly, this alliance is emblematic of the shift from prophylactic or aesthetic applications of exosomes toward serious rare-disease and regenerative medicine indications. It also illustrates that beyond major pharma, smaller biotech startups are establishing targeted partnerships in the exosome space.
Evotec SE, Sartorius, and Curexsys GmbH
On December 09, 2020, Evotec SE and Sartorius signed a partnership with Curexsys GmbH, a start-up company specializing in the emerging field of therapeutic exosomes. Curexsys has developed a proprietary isolation technology for exosomes based on a traceless immune-affinity process. Under the terms of the agreement, Evotec and Curexsys will collaborate for the production of MSCs, which serve as a source for exosomes. Curexsys aims to develop targeted approaches for a variety of diseases, initially focusing on Sicca Syndrome, commonly known as “dry eye”, an inflammatory condition.
This collaboration combines Evotec’s iPSCs platform with Curexsys’ proprietary technology to selectively isolate exosomes. Sartorius will support Curexsys to set up a GMP-compliant and scalable manufacturing platform. Furthermore, Evotec and Sartorius have formed a consortium to jointly invest in Curexsys’ $9.9 million (€ 8.2 million) seed financing round, with Evotec acquiring an equity stake of 37% in Curexsys and Sartorius of approximately 21%.
Sarepta Therapeutics and Codiak BioSciences
On June 22, 2020, Sarepta Therapeutics and Codiak BioSciences signed a global research and option agreement to design and develop engineered exosome therapeutics to deliver gene therapy, gene editing and RNA technologies for neuromuscular diseases. The engineered exosome approach offers the potential to effectively deliver genetic therapeutics without triggering the adaptive immune response.
The two-year agreement includes up to five neuromuscular targets. Codiak is eligible to receive up to $72.5 million in upfront and near-term license payments plus research funding.
Evox Therapeutics & Takeda Pharmaceutical
On March 30, 2020, Evox and Takeda signed a partnership agreement under which Evox will puruse development of up to five exosome therapeutics targeted for the treatment of rare diseases. The deal involves Evox’s Exosome Technology to load exosomes with drugs enabling targeted delivery of proteins and RNA to the central nervous system (CNS).
Under the terms of the deal, Evox is eligible to receive up to $44 million in upfront payments and near-term milestones. This represents a small percentage of the total deal value, as Evox is eligible to receive up to $882 million in upfront, development, and commercial milestone payments from Takeda over time. Evox can also receive tiered royalties on the net sales of each product.
In exchange for payment, Takeda has gained access to five novel protein replacement and mRNA therapies. Evox is responsible for research and development until an IND is submitted, as well as manufacturing and associated program costs up to and including Phase I trials.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Codiak BioSciences
On January 03, 2019, Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Codiak BioSciences signed a strategic collaboration agreement focused on the research, development and commercialization of exosome therapeutics to treat cancer. Codiak granted Jazz an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing license to develop, manufacture and commercialize therapeutic candidates directed at five targets to be developed using Codiak’s engEx precision engineering platform for exosome therapeutics.
The targets focus on oncogenes that have been well validated in hematological malignancies and solid tumors but have been undruggable with current modalities, including NRAS and STAT3. Codiak received a $56 million upfront payment.
Codiak could also receive up to $200 million in milestones for each of five targets ($1 billion total), as well as additional preclinical development milestones of up to $20 million, a co-commercialization option on two products, and royalties on future net sales.
PureTech Health and Roche
On July 20, 2018, the U.S. biotech PureTech Health signed a potential billion-dollar deal with Roche, based around its exosome technology that allows for oral administration of complex payloads, specifically antisense oligonucleotides developed by Roche. PureTech has developed a milk-derived exosome, which can travel through the lymphatic system. It could enable the targeting of immune cells in novel ways.
Under this agreement, PureTech Health received approximately $36 million, including upfront payments, research support, and early preclinical milestones. PureTech Health could potentially receive development milestone payments of over $1 billion and additional sales milestones and royalties for an undisclosed number of products.
Exosome Diagnostics and Intezyne, Inc.
On March 14, 2018, Exosome Diagnostics signed a collaboration agreement with Intezyne, Inc., to design and validate a highly sensitive exosomal RNA based assay for use in Intezyne’s Phase I/II clinical trials of IT-139. IT-139 is a novel Cancer Resistance Pathway (CRP) inhibitor for the treatment of pancreatic, gastric, and other cancers in combination with existing anti-cancer therapies.
The assay leverages Exosome Diagnostics’ ExoLution isolation kit, a cGMP-grade exosome RNA isolation platform, and is intended for the stratification and long-term monitoring of patients.
Evox Therapeutics and Boehringer Ingelheim
On December 20, 2017, Evox Therapeutics Ltd. signed research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to investigate exosome-mediated delivery of RNAs with high medical relevance to targets for specific disease areas of focus to Boehringer Ingelheim. Under the terms of the agreement, Evox and Boehringer Ingelheim will perform comprehensive in vitro and in vivo research with Evox’s exosome technology in return for undisclosed financial considerations.
This research may help to pave the way for approaching therapeutic concepts in diseases with high medical need that are currently not amenable to therapeutic intervention. Upon completion of these studies, Boehringer Ingelheim will have the option to negotiate a license agreement to further develop RNA drug candidates using Evox’s exosome-mediated delivery technology.
The Future of the Exosome Industry
Clearly, market demand for exosome technologies is accelerating, with deals within the sector repeatedly being structured to include payments and incentives in the $1 billion regime. The partnership ecosystem is also maturing beyond upstream R&D into scale manufacturing, diagnostics consolidation, and cross-regional collaborations.
Exosome-related technologies have been developing rapidly over the past few years, and substantial growth is expected for the market as they get integrated into the fields of liquid biopsy, precision medicine, regenerative medicine, and advanced delivery platforms.
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