Evotec Reaches Milestone In Integrated Drug Discovery And Development Partnership With Aeovian

• PARTNERSHIP ACHIEVES FAST-TRACK PROGRESS FROM LEAD OPTIMISATION TO NOMINATION OF A PRE-CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT CANDIDATE (“PDC”) IN 18 MONTHS
• EVOTEC RECEIVES UNDISCLOSED PAYMENT AND HAS SECURED AN EQUITY STAKE THROUGH AEOVIAN’S SERIES A FINANCING
• EVOTEC TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING THE PROJECT WITH INDIGO AND API MANUFACTURING SERVICES

HAMBURG, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / October 4, 2019 / Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) today announced that the Company has reached a milestone in a drug discovery and development partnership with the biopharmaceutical company Aeovian Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Aeovian”).

Aeovian and Evotec entered into a drug discovery partnership in 2017 to discover and develop new and highly selective mTORC1 inhibitors for the treatment of rare and age-related diseases. After nominating a pre-clinical development candidate within 18 months from starting the lead optimisation phase, Aeovian was recently able to successfully close a $ 37 m Series A financing round with lead investors venBio Partners and Sofinnova Investments and the participation of Apollo Health Ventures. Evotec received an undisclosed payment and has also participated in the financing round to secure additional upside from the further successful development of the jointly developed programme.

Evotec continues to support Aeovian’s project with the fully-integrated clinical-enabling service INDiGO as well as the process development for the production of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (“API”). The partners plan to work effectively towards submission of an Investigational New Drug Application (“IND”) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and the initiation of clinical studies for Aeovian’s lead candidate.

Dr Craig Johnstone, Chief Operating Officer of Evotec, commented: “This milestone achievement with Aeovian is yet another impressive example of how Evotec’s integrated discovery and development platform contributes efficient execution to the medical innovation of its partners. The management of this chemically challenging project “under one roof” was key to delivering a PDC within 18 months from starting at the lead optimisation phase. We are confident that through our INDiGO and API manufacturing services we can continue to support the successful development of Aeovian’s project in the best way possible.”

Stelios T. Tzannis, PhD, President & CEO of Aeovian, added: “We are extremely glad about the fast progress of our programme which has been made possible by Evotec’s expertise and technical excellence. The successful identification and de-risking of our lead clinical candidate was instrumental in the closing of our Series A financing. We are excited to be working with our investors and the Evotec team towards the successful development of this innovative compound to bring relief to patients suffering from rare central nervous system (“CNS”) and age-related disorders.”

ABOUT AEOVIAN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
Aeovian Pharmaceuticals, Inc. focusses on the discovery and development of novel, highly selective mTORC1 inhibitors for the treatment of rare and age-related diseases. The Company was founded with technology licensed from The Buck Institute for Research on Aging. Aeovian’s lead candidates are poised to overcome the clinical limitations of current mTOR inhibitors, namely their deleterious side effects on metabolic health and immune function that arise from their off-target inhibition of mTORC2. Aeovian’s lead compounds are novel, highly selective modulators of the mTORC1 pathway with the potential to address multiple underlying causes of disease initiation and progression, such as oxidative, cellular, and environmental stress.

Media Contact Aeovian Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Stelios T Tzannis, MS, PhD
Email: media@aeovian.com

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 2,800 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 and fibrosis. On this basis, Evotec has built a broad and deep pipeline of approx. 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, Celgene, CHDI, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Sanofi, Takeda, UCB and others. For additional information please go to www.evotec.com and follow us on Twitter @Evotec.

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.

Contact Evotec SE:
Gabriele Hansen, VP Corporate Communications, Marketing & Investor Relations,
Phone: +49.(0)40.56081-255, gabriele.hansen@evotec.com

SOURCE: Evotec AG

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