• EVOTEC JOINS FORCES WITH THE CROHN’S & COLITIS FOUNDATION’S IBD THERAPEUTICS INCUBATOR TO ADVANCE DRUG DISCOVERY AND IDENTIFY NOVEL THERAPIES FOR INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (“IBD”)
• THE COLLABORATION LEVERAGES EVOTEC'S END-TO-END INTEGRATED R&D PLATFORM TO ADVANCE DRUG DISCOVERY FOR TWO INNOVATIVE DRUG TARGETS ADDRESSING FIBROSIS AND IMPAIRED INTESTINAL BARRIER FUNCTION

Hamburg, Germany, and New York, USA, 10 January 2024:
Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809; NASDAQ: EVO) today announced that the Company has joined forces with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation (“the Foundation”), the leading non-profit organisation focused on both research and patient support for inflammatory bowel disease (“IBD”), which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Under the collaboration, Evotec joins forces with the Foundation’s IBD Therapeutics Incubator programme that facilitates collaboration between the Foundation, academic researchers, and industry partners to translate groundbreaking basic research that was performed by academic researchers and identified by the Foundation into medical innovations for IBD patients.

The collaboration leverages Evotec’s end-to-end integrated R&D platform to advance drug discovery for two innovative drug targets that address major unmet medical needs of patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis: Fibrosis, the excessive accumulation of scar tissue in the intestinal wall, and impaired intestinal barrier function, which leads to increased intestinal permeability, also known as “leaky gut”.

Dr Matthias Evers, Chief Business Officer of Evotec, commented: “Mission-driven foundations like the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation are an essential part of the healthcare ecosystem as they drive medical progress in areas of significant unmet need that would otherwise not be pursued. As we join forces within the Foundation in this second collaboration, we are fully aligned on our mission to create access to novel therapeutics and look forward to leveraging both Evotec’s translational experience as well as our fully integrated drug discovery powerhouse within the Foundation’s IBD Therapeutics Incubator.”

“We are excited about this collaboration with Evotec as part of the Foundation’s IBD Therapeutics Incubator because it will transform ideas to therapeutic product opportunities and scientific research into patient solutions,” said Andrés Hurtado Lorenzo, PhD, Senior Vice President, Translational Research & IBD Ventures at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. “We’re actually driving research from idea to therapeutic product opportunity.”

“We’re excited to initiate these drug discovery projects with top-notch academic investigators and the experienced scientists at Evotec,” said Jennifer Swantek, PhD, Director of the Foundation’s IBD Therapeutics Incubator programme. “We’re eager to deliver much needed, differentiated therapies to Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis patients as soon as possible.”

No financial terms of the collaboration were disclosed.

About IBD
Nearly 1 in 100 Americans have IBD, a serious chronic medical condition that indicates chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. IBD symptoms, which can include abdominal pain and diarrhoea can be mild or severe, and they may appear suddenly or come on gradually. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are debilitating chronic conditions. Even with proper medication and diet, as many as 2/3 to 3/4 of people with Crohn’s disease will require surgery at some point in their lives. The mission of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation is to cure Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease (“IBD”), and to improve the quality of life of children and adults affected by these diseases. The Foundation has invested nearly $ 500 m in research toward cures.

ABOUT THE CROHN’S & COLITIS FOUNDATION

The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization focused on both research and patient support for IBD, with the mission of curing Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and improving the quality of life for the millions of Americans living with IBD. The Foundation’s work is dramatically accelerating the research process, while also providing extensive educational and support resources for patients and their families, medical professionals, and the public. For more information, visit crohnscolitisfoundation.org.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This announcement contains forward-looking statements concerning future events, including the proposed offering and listing of Evotec’s securities. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “should,” “target,” “would” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements include comments regarding Evotec’s expectations for revenues, Group EBITDA and unpartnered R&D expenses. These forward-looking statements are based on the information available to, and the expectations and assumptions deemed reasonable by Evotec at the time these statements were made. No assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates, which are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of Evotec. Evotec expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Evotec’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.