HAMBURG, Germany, Oct 1, 2012 (Menafn - GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) --Evotec AG (frankfurt:EVT) (TecDAX) today announced that Evotec and Bayer Pharma AG have entered into a five-year, multi-target collaboration with the goal of developing three clinical candidates for the treatment of endometriosis. Both parties will contribute innovative drug targets and high quality technology infrastructures and will share the responsibility for early research and pre-clinical characterisation of potential clinical candidates in the disease area of endometriosis.
Bayer will be responsible for any subsequent clinical development and commercialisation. Evotec will receive EUR 12 million as an upfront payment. Evotec may also receive additional pre-clinical, clinical and sales milestones of potentially up to approximately Euro 580 million, plus potential royalties of up to low double digit percent of net sales, depending on which party brought the compound to the collaboration and the successful development and approval of potential drug candidates.
Dr Werner Lanthaler, Chief Executive Officer of Evotec, commented: “Women with endometriosis may experience excruciating and chronic pain. Because endometriosis affects women in childbearing age, there is an incredible need for new, non-surgical treatments that will preserve fertility and alleviate pain. Evotec brings into this collaboration potential drug candidates and its extensive know-how in the area of chronic pain. We look forward to joining forces with Bayer in what we believe is a very promising and comprehensive effort to tackle this significant issue in women’s health.”
“Endometriosis is a disease with insufficient treatment options today for women who suffer from this painful condition. It is one of Bayer’s strategic research indications and our new collaboration with Evotec will perfectly complement our activities in this field of high unmet medical need,” said Prof Andreas Busch, Member of the Bayer HealthCare Executive Committee and Head of Global Drug Discovery. “We look forward to working with Evotec’s team on the development of novel drug candidates.”
About Endometriosis
Endometriosis affects an estimated 176 million women worldwide or 10% of women of reproductive age. It is caused by the abnormal growth of tissue similar to that which lines the uterus (endometrial tissue) in locations outside of the uterine cavity, where it causes ectopic lesion growth and debilitating pain. Endometrial growth is commonly found on the ovaries and pelvic peritoneum, potentially involving other organs of the pelvic cavity as e.g. bladder, bowel, and the rectovaginal space.
There is no known cure for endometriosis and most available drug treatments have certain limitations. Endometriosis is a highly complex and heterogeneous disease and there is still a high unmet medical need for innovative therapies which address the individual needs of affected women.
The disease can greatly impact a woman’s social, professional and personal life, and women with endometriosis often experience a higher incidence of depression and emotional distress due to the uncertainty of diagnosis, unpredictability of symptoms and living a normal life.
Find more information at http://endometriosisfoundation.org or http://endometriosis-league.eu/en.
ABOUT EVOTEC AG
Evotec is a drug discovery alliance and development partnership company focused on rapidly progressing innovative product approaches with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. We operate worldwide providing the highest quality stand-alone and integrated drug discovery solutions, covering all activities from target-to-clinic. The Company has established a unique position by assembling top-class scientific experts and integrating state-of-the-art technologies as well as substantial experience and expertise in key therapeutic areas including neuroscience, pain, metabolic diseases as well as oncology and inflammation. Evotec has long-term discovery alliances with partners including Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, CHDI, Genentech, Medimmune/AstraZeneca, Novartis and Ono Pharmaceutical. In addition, the Company has existing development partnerships and product candidates both in clinical and pre-clinical development. These include partnerships with Boehringer Ingelheim, MedImmune and Andromeda (Teva) in the field of diabetes, and with Roche in the field of Alzheimer’s disease. For additional information please go to www.evotec.com.
ABOUT BAYER HEALTHCARE
The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 17.2 billion (2011), is one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Bayer HealthCare’s aim is to discover, develop, manufacture and market products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 55,700 employees (Dec 31, 2011) and is represented in more than 100 countries. More information at www.healthcare.bayer.com.
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 report. 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.
This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com
SOURCE: Evotec AG
CONTACT: Gabriele Hansen, Head of Corporate Communications
49-40-56081-255
gabriele.hansen@evotec.com
