PRESS RELEASE : EVOTEC ACHIEVES MILESTONE IN ITS NEURODEGENERATION COLLABORATION WITH BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB

 
 DGAP-News: Evotec SE / Key word(s): Miscellaneous 
EVOTEC ACHIEVES MILESTONE IN ITS NEURODEGENERATION COLLABORATION WITH 
BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB 
 
2021-01-05 / 07:30 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
 
? _ADDING ANOTHER DRUG DISCOVERY PROJECT TO THE PORTFOLIO TRIGGERS PAYMENT 
TO EVOTEC_ 
 
*Hamburg, Germany, 05 January 2021:* 
Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) 
announced today that the Company has received a US$ 6 m payment from Bristol 
Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) within the companies' iPSC-based 
neuroscience partnership. The payment follows Bristol Myers Squibb's 
decision to add another drug discovery project to the partnership's 
portfolio. 
 
Evotec and Bristol Myers Squibb (the successor in interest to Celgene) 
initiated the collaboration in 2016 to identify disease-modifying treatments 
for a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases. Currently approved drugs 
only offer short-term management of patients' symptoms and there is a huge 
unmet medical need for therapies that slow down or reverse disease 
progression in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. 
 
This collaboration pursues an innovative approach to the discovery and 
development of novel medicines by leveraging several of Evotec's unique 
technology platforms in conjunction with the human iPSC-based platform, 
which is one of the largest and most sophisticated platforms in the 
industry. The partnership between Bristol Myers Squibb and Evotec has 
already found several access points into neurodegenerative diseases and has 
to-date delivered a broad portfolio targeting key disease mechanisms in 
neurodegeneration. 
 
*Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, commented: *"We are 
very excited about this most recent expansion of our joint project portfolio 
which further validates our iPSC-based approach within our strategic 
neuroscience partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb. Our partnership with 
Bristol Myers Squibb is driven by the firm belief that iPSC-based approaches 
will deliver more disease-relevant drug candidates which will have a better 
chance to deliver safe and effective drugs than traditional approaches." 
 
The milestone was achieved before the end of 2020. 
 
*About Evotec and iPSC* 
Induced pluripotent stem cells (also known as iPS cells or iPSCs) are a type 
of pluripotent stem cell that can be generated directly from adult cells. 
The iPSC technology was pioneered by Shinya Yamanaka's lab in Kyoto, Japan, 
who showed in 2006 that the introduction of four specific genes encoding 
transcription factors could convert adult cells into pluripotent stem cells. 
He was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize along with Sir John Gurdon "for the 
discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent". 
Pluripotent stem cells hold great promise in the field of regenerative 
medicine. Because they can propagate indefinitely, as well as give rise to 
every other cell type in the body (such as neurons, heart, pancreatic and 
liver cells), they represent a single source of cells that could be used to 
replace those lost to damage or disease. 
 
Evotec has built an industrialised iPSC infrastructure that represents one 
of the largest and most sophisticated iPSC platforms in the industry. 
Evotec's iPSC platform has been developed over the last years with the goal 
to industrialise iPSC-based drug screening in terms of throughput, 
reproducibility and robustness to reach the highest industrial standards, 
and to use iPSC-based cells in cell therapy approaches via the Company's 
proprietary *EVO*_cells_ platform. 
 
ABOUT EVOTEC SE 
Evotec is a drug discovery alliance and development partnership company 
focused on rapidly progressing innovative product approaches with leading 
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academics, patient advocacy 
groups and venture capitalists. We operate worldwide and our more than 3,400 
employees provide the highest quality stand-alone and integrated drug 
discovery and development solutions. We cover all activities from 
target-to-clinic to meet the industry's need for innovation and efficiency 
in drug discovery and development (EVT Execute). 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 neuronal diseases, diabetes and 
complications of diabetes, pain and inflammation, oncology, infectious 
diseases, respiratory diseases, fibrosis, rare diseases and women's health. 
On this basis, Evotec has built a broad and deep pipeline of more than 100 
co-owned product opportunities at clinical, pre-clinical and discovery 
stages (EVT Innovate). Evotec has established multiple long-term alliances 
with partners including Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, 
CHDI, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Sanofi, Takeda, UCB and others. For 
additional information please go to www.evotec.com [1] _and follow us on 
Twitter_ @Evotec [2]_. 
 
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. 
 
Media Contact Evotec SE: 
Gabriele Hansen, SVP Head of Global Corporate Communications & Marketing, 
Phone: [phone], [e-mail] 
 
IR Contact Evotec SE: 
Volker Braun, SVP Head of Global Investor Relations & ESG, Phone: 
+49.(0)40.56081-775, [e-mail] 
 
2021-01-05 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a 
service of EQS Group AG. 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
 
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Archive at www.dgap.de 
Language:    English 
Company:     Evotec SE 
             Manfred Eigen Campus / Essener Bogen 7 
             22419 Hamburg 
             Germany 
Phone:       [phone] 
Fax:         [phone] 
E-mail:      [e-mail] 
Internet:    www.evotec.com 
ISIN:        DE0005664809 
WKN:         566480 
Indices:     MDAX, TecDAX 
Listed:      Regulated Market in Berlin, Frankfurt (Prime Standard); 
             Regulated Unofficial Market in Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, 
             Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange 
EQS News ID: 1158418 
 
End of News DGAP News Service 
 
1158418 2021-01-05 
 
 
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 05, 2021 01:30 ET (06:30 GMT)