Hamburg, Germany/Oxford, UK – 14th July 2009: Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT; NASDAQ: EVTC), a leading provider in the discovery and development of novel small molecule drugs, today announced that it has entered into a research agreement with Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST), a leading acute care biopharmaceutical company located in Lexington, Mass., USA.
Cubist will use Evotec’s proprietary fragment screening technology, EVOlutionTM to complement discovery research efforts in two of its antibacterials programs. EVOlutionTM combines biochemical, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) screening technologies for the screening of low molecular weight compounds and fragments. By the combination of the orthogonal screening technologies, Evotec’s fragment screening platform is capable of screening a more diverse set of biological targets than other fragment screening approaches, as well as being able to screen the fragments in a high-throughput mode. The benefit of this is the ability to identify active fragments for numerous classes of biological targets in a short space of time.
In combination with fragment screening technology, Evotec will use its expertise in structural biology and protein crystallography in order to determine the 3-dimensional structure of the fragments bound to the targets of interest. To this end, Evotec will use its internal crystallography platform and will access the state-of-the-art synchrotron technology of the Diamond Light Source, its partner for protein crystallography. By providing this technology in combination with its fragment screening, Evotec will supply high quality results to Cubist to enable the structure-driven identification of drug candidates for their priority antibacterial targets.
Dr Mark Ashton, Evotec’s EVP, Business Development commented: “We are pleased to be working with Cubist and look forward to identifying interesting fragments for their targets and to supporting them in their quest for new treatments for antibacterial diseases.”
About Evotec AG
Evotec is a leader in the discovery and development of novel small molecule drugs. The Company has built substantial drug discovery expertise and an industrialized platform that can drive new innovative small molecule compounds into the clinic. In addition, Evotec has built a deep internal knowledge base in the treatment of diseases related to neuroscience, pain, and inflammation. Leveraging these skills and expertise, the Company intends to develop best-in-class differentiated therapeutics and deliver superior science-driven discovery alliances with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Evotec has long-term discovery alliances with partners including Boehringer Ingelheim, CHDI, Novartis, Ono Pharmaceutical and Roche. The Company has a P2X7 antagonist for the treatment of inflammatory diseases in clinical development and a series of preclinical compounds and development partnerships, including a strategic alliance with Roche for EVT 101, a subtype selective NMDA receptor antagonist, for use in treatment-resistant depression. For additional information please go to www.evotec.com
About fragment-based drug discovery
Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) is a new paradigm in drug discovery that utilizes very small molecules - fragments of more complex molecules – to generate efficient starting points for drug discovery. This approach thus provides the opportunity to effectively manage the molecular weight and overall complexity of drug candidates, a recognised success factor in drug development.
About NMR and SPR screening technologies
NMR and SPR screening technologies are used to study the interaction of small molecules, such as drug candidates, with their targets.
About Diamond Light Source
Diamond generates extremely intense pin-point beams of synchrotron light of exceptional quality ranging from x-rays, ultra-violet and infrared. For example Diamond’s x-rays are around 100 billion times brighter than a standard hospital X-ray machine or 10 billion times brighter than the sun. For more information about Diamond, see www.diamond.ac.uk.
