Evotec Announces Progress in Neuroscience Collaboration With Bristol Myers Squibb

Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809; NASDAQ: EVO) announced that the Company has reached important scientific progress within its neuroscience collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) triggering a research payment of US$ 20 m to Evotec. A target-based programme progresses into late pre-clinical development, further contributing to the fast-growing and promising pipeline of discovery to clinical-stage programmes in neurodegeneration that the partnership has generated.

Evotec and Bristol Myers Squibb entered their strategic neuroscience collaboration in December 2016 to identify disease-modifying treatments for a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases. Currently approved drugs mainly offer short-term management of the patients’ symptoms and there is a significant unmet medical need for therapeutic modalities that slow down or prevent disease progression.

A first programme, EVT8683, was in-licensed by Bristol Myers Squibb in September 2021 as BMS-986419. Following a successful Phase I study Bristol Myers Squibb announced that a Phase II study for BMS-986419 is scheduled to commence in 2024. In March 2023, Bristol Myers Squibb and Evotec extended and expanded this partnership for an additional 8 years.

Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, said: “We are excited to further expand our pipeline with another high-potential programme progressing into late pre-clinical development, demonstrating the exceptional productivity of our neuroscience partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb and our shared commitment to innovation and patient care. Together with Bristol Myers Squibb we have been able to advance a growing portfolio of programmes to critical inflection points, bringing us closer to our joint goal of delivering new therapeutic options for patients suffering from devastating neurological disorders.”