HAMBURG, Germany and OXFORD, England, March 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Evotec AG announced today that the Company and Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan) signed a new drug discovery agreement targeting a protease chosen by Ono.
The collaboration applies Evotec’s proprietary fragment-based drug discovery platform, EVOlution(TM) to identify novel, small molecular weight compounds active against a protease target. The platform integrates, among other things, protein X-ray crystallography, computational chemistry, structural biology, biochemical, and NMR based fragment screening in combination with its high-quality fragment libraries. In the collaboration it is combined with Evotec’s expertise in medicinal chemistry and ADMET to further characterize active compounds identified and optimize their potency and selectivity to generate molecules for subsequent progression into clinical trials.
Under the agreement, Ono will pay to Evotec initial payments (technology access fee) for access to Evotec’s fragment-based drug discovery platform, EVOlution(TM), research funding as well as success-based milestones based on the research progress.
Dr Mark Ashton, Executive Vice President Business Development Services at Evotec, said: “We are extremely pleased that Evotec’s capabilities in drug discovery and, in particular, our proprietary EVOlution(TM) platform for fragment-based drug discovery, have been so highly regarded by Ono and that they have chosen us as their partner for this collaboration. We are confident that Evotec will contribute to Ono’s drug discovery program.”
“We have the highest regards for the wide range of drug discovery technologies Evotec possesses and highly anticipate the collaboration will result in identifying a novel drug having high potentials,” said Daikichi Fukushima, Ph.D., Managing Director, Research Headquarters at Ono.
Forward looking statements
Information set forth in this report contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the anticipated benefits of Evotec’s products and services, the payments that Evotec may receive under its collaboration agreement with Ono, the anticipated timing and results of Evotec’s clinical and pre-clinical programs, and other statements that are not historical facts. Evotec cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information as a result of risks and uncertainties. These include risks and uncertainties relating to: Evotec’s ability to satisfy the research-based milestones under the agreement with Ono, Evotec’s ability to complete the merger because conditions to the closing of the merger may not be satisfied; the failure to successfully integrate the businesses of Evotec and Renovis; unexpected costs or liabilities resulting from the merger; the risk that synergies from the merger may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; disruption from the merger making it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers; competition and its effect on pricing, spending, third-party relationships and revenues; the need to develop new products and adapt to significant technological change; implementation of strategies for improving internal growth; development, use and protection of intellectual property; general worldwide economic conditions and related uncertainties; future legislative, regulatory, or tax changes as well as other economic, business and/or competitive factors; and the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on international operations.
The risks included above are not exhaustive. The Registration Statement on Form F-4 filed by Evotec with the Securities and Exchange Commission contains additional factors that could impact the combined company’s businesses and financial performance. The parties expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in the parties’ expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
anne.hennecke@evotec.com
CONTACT: Contact: Evotec AG, Anne Hennecke, SVP, Investor Relations &
Corporate Communications, Phone: +49(0)40-56081-286, Fax:
+49(0)40-56081-333, E-Mail: anne.hennecke@evotec.com
