- PARTNERSHIP COMBINES RELATED SCIENCES’ COLLABORATIVE SCIENCE MODEL AND DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO IDENTIFYING BIOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGHS WITH EVOTEC’S INTEGRATED PLATFORM TO DRIVE INNOVATIVE MULTIMODALITY DRUG DISCOVERY FROM TARGET TO CLINIC
- EVOTEC WILL BENEFIT FROM SUCCESS THROUGH MILESTONES, ROYALTIES AND FOUNDING EQUITY STAKES IN ALL RELATED SCIENCES ASSETS DEVELOPED WITHIN THIS COLLABORATION
Hamburg, Germany, 09 February 2021:
Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) announced today that the Company has entered into an integrated multi-target drug discovery agreement with biotech venture creation firm Related Sciences to generate multiple drug development candidates, biomarkers, and IND filings over a multi-year period.
Leveraging their complementary strengths, Evotec and Related Sciences will jointly discover and develop a multitude of therapeutic approaches for clearly defined patient populations with significant unmet medical needs. Related Sciences integrates data-driven identification of promising new therapeutic opportunities for patients with a unique team-science model that assembles field leaders from around the world to de-risk and advance the creation of valuable new medicines in breakthrough areas of biology. By partnering with Evotec, Related Sciences will benefit from Evotec’s significant track record of success, computational capabilities, and disease area know-how in drug discovery and development. Evotec will leverage its comprehensive proprietary platform of integrated discovery and development services to progress the joint programmes from target to the clinic, informing drug intervention strategies, supporting target prioritisation and target validation, and generating hits, leads, candidates, and biomarkers.
In addition to substantial investment from Related Sciences and its companies to support Evotec-led research and discovery efforts across portfolios of promising new drug programmes, Evotec will be eligible to receive milestones, royalties, and a founding equity stake in all Related Sciences assets developed under the partnership.
Dr Craig Johnstone, Chief Operating Officer of Evotec, said: “We are delighted to enter into this unique and transformative partnership with Related Sciences. Through the integration of best-in-class science, human data-driven target selection, project leadership, and portfolio management, the combined expertise of Evotec and Related Sciences will generate novel, high-quality therapeutics, leading to treatments for patients with significant medical needs.”
Dr Jack Milwid, Managing Partner and Head of Research at Related Sciences, said: “Our platform at Related Sciences integrates insights from data and field-leading scientists to answer the question ‘where can major new therapeutic advances be achieved for patients in need?’ Evotec’s world-class, multimodality, integrated discovery and computational capabilities significantly empowers our efforts to uncover new, best-in-class medicines for poorly served patient populations.”
No financial details of the collaboration were disclosed.
ABOUT RELATED SCIENCES
Related Sciences (RS) is a data-driven venture creation firm founded to discover new medicines for diseases with major unmet needs. RS assembles portfolios of promising therapeutic programs in breakthrough areas of biology led by distributed teams of field-leading scientists and clinicians from around the world. By integrating a range of data, scientific, drug discovery, and business model innovations, RS seeks to create medicines that have the greatest possible chances of working safely and effectively in patients within a virtual operating model that reduces costs, attrition risk, and geographic constraints, to maximize potential value creation. RS was founded by a team with deep expertise in life sciences company creation, investment strategy, and data science, and is backed by a luminary group of investors.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Information set forth in this press release contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgement of Evotec as of the date of this press release. Such forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.