- Evotec Receives a Milestone Payment From Ono for the Progression of a Compound Into Pre-Clinical Development
HAMBURG, Germany, Jan. 11, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evotec AG (Frankfurt:EVT) (TecDAX) today announced that a compound identified and optimised in a research collaboration with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("Ono") has been nominated to enter pre-clinical development, leading to the payment of an agreed milestone.
This collaboration project was initiated in March 2008. Evotec combined high throughput screening and its proprietary fragment-based drug discovery platform to identify novel compounds active against a protease target, which were then further optimised with Ono to generate a candidate suitable for pre-clinical development.
Dr Mario Polywka, Chief Operating Officer of Evotec, commented: "We are extremely pleased that we have collaborated with Ono Pharmaceutical on this important project and delivered a pre-clinical candidate. The teams from Ono and Evotec have enjoyed an excellent interaction and relationship throughout the collaboration which has helped meet this goal. This achievement clearly demonstrates the value we bring to our alliance partners in the area of drug discovery. We look forward to continuing working closely with our colleagues at Ono."
"This pre-clinical candidate is an important member of our development pipeline and we have high expectations for it. During the entire project we could count on the access to various technologies and on the knowledge, but in particular on the drug discovery expertise of our colleagues from Evotec. They are an integrated part of our drug discovery strategy", said Dr Kazuhito Kawabata, Managing Director, Research Headquarters at Ono.
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 Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, CHDI, Genentech, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, MedImmune/AstraZeneca 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.
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.