Evotec announced that the Company has entered a target and drug discovery partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim, focusing on induced pluripotent stem cell (“iPSC”)-based disease modelling for ophthalmologic disorders. Millions of people are affected by vision-related diseases worldwide, and there is a high unmet need for novel therapeutic solutions.
Through phenotypic screening of human iPSC-derived cells, supported by Evotec’s PanOmics platform, Evotec will identify small molecules able to modulate disease phenotypes, and then validate the underlying promising targets for potential therapeutic interventions. Boehringer Ingelheim will then continue with the discovery and development of potential therapeutic candidates. Besides an undisclosed upfront and FTE-based research payment, Evotec will continue to benefit from the successful further development of the candidates in the form of milestones and layered royalties.
Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, commented: “We are excited to utilise our unique iPSC- and PanOmics-based approaches to ophthalmologic diseases in this new partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim. Phenotypic screening approaches have a long history of delivering highly effective drugs based on novel molecular mechanisms. Phenotypic screens based on human iPSC-derived disease models combined with our unbiased PanOmics readouts are more likely to deliver disease relevant drugs than any other cell-based screening approach.”
ABOUT EVOTEC SE
Evotec is a life science company with a unique business model that delivers on its mission to discover and develop highly effective therapeutics and make them available to the patients. The Company’s multimodality platform comprises a unique combination of innovative technologies, data and science for the discovery, development, and production of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products. Evotec leverages this “Data-driven R&D Autobahn to Cures” for proprietary projects and
within a network of partners including all Top 20 Pharma and over 800 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, as well as other healthcare stakeholders. Evotec has strategic activities in a broad range of currently underserved therapeutic areas, including e.g. neurology, oncology, as well as metabolic and infectious diseases. Within these areas of expertise, Evotec aims to create the world-
leading co-owned pipeline for innovative therapeutics and has to-date established a portfolio of more than 200 proprietary and co-owned R&D projects from early discovery to clinical development. Evotec operates globally with more than 4,000 highly qualified people. The Company’s 14 sites offer highly synergistic technologies and services and operate as complementary clusters of excellence.
