Corporate | 1 August 2003 08:01

Evotec OAI AG english

Evotec and Takeda enter into drug discovery alliance in Alzheimer’s disease Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Evotec and Takeda enter into drug discovery alliance in Alzheimer’s disease Evotec Neurosciences GmbH (ENS), a subsidiary of Evotec OAI (Deutsche Börse: EVT, TecDAX 30), and Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd. today announced a four- year collaboration in the area of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The two companies aim to identify and validate novel targets relating to different aspects of the causes and progression of AD, with the goal of developing innovative small molecule therapeutics. ENS will grant Takeda access to its proprietary database of Alzheimer’s disease- related targets, and further validate selected target candidates for downstream drug discovery programs. Takeda will make payments to Evotec Neurosciences of up to EUR 20 million covering database access fees, research funding and milestone payments relating to the selection of targets for further drug discovery. Substantial milestones would also be payable on the successful clinical development of compounds acting on selected targets. Further financial details of the collaboration are not disclosed. “We are delighted to start this extensive collaboration with Takeda, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. It is a major validation of Evotec Neurosciences’ innovative work to identify and validate drug targets to prevent or treat Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s affects millions of people in the developed world and is becoming an ever-increasing challenge as the population ages,” said Dr. John Kemp, Chief Executive Officer of Evotec Neurosciences. “The agreement signed with Takeda is an important validation of our strategy we adopted in 1999, when we decided to increasingly focus Evotec OAI on drug discovery and selectively invest in high-value indication-specific research programs together with leading academic institutions in order to cover a large part of the discovery value chain,” said Joern Aldag, President and Chief Executive Officer of Evotec OAI. “We are very much excited to enter into this collaboration with Evotec Neurosciences. In choosing this partnership, we expect to be able to make full use of the valuable database to accelerate our research for the creation of new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease. Takeda is pursuing every possibility for enhancing its R&D pipeline, and promoting actively alliances with our partners so that we can utilize outside resources efficiently in our research,” said Takashi Soda, Ph.D., General Manager of Takeda’s Pharmaceutical Research Division. About Evotec Neurosciences GmbH Evotec Neurosciences GmbH (ENS), established in May 1999, is a majority-held affiliate of Evotec OAI AG employing 22 people at its main site in Hamburg, Germany. The company is dedicated to developing better therapeutic products for the treatment of major CNS disorders. Its current focus is on Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders. The company’s strength is the seamless integration of target identification and validation, drug discovery and development through the leading platform of Evotec OAI and the research excellence of renowned pre-clinical and clinical partners. ENS’ short to medium term strategy is to build a broad and well-balanced product portfolio, including Disease-to-IND, Target-to-IND and Lead-to-Clinical Development projects. http://www.evotec-neurosciences.com Contact: Evotec Neurosciences GmbH Dr. John A. Kemp CEO Phone: +49.(0)40.56081-238 E-Mail: john.kemp@evotec-neurosciences.com About Evotec OAI AG Evotec OAI has established itself as the partner of choice for drug discovery and development services for the world’s premier pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, maintaining its leadership role through innovation and unmatched customer service. The Company’s business strategy is clearly focused on drug discovery. It has established the most comprehensive technology platform and skills that integrate its world-class biology and chemistry capabilities. Evotec OAI leverages this discovery engine in providing assay development and screening through to compound optimisation and drug manufacturing services to a broad and well- established network of customers. Evotec OAI’s instrument and technology business is now successfully handled by its affiliate, Evotec Technologies. With over 600 people in Hamburg, Germany, and Abingdon, UK, Evotec OAI is dedicated to returning value to its shareholders and employees through a sustainable business strategy that balances short-term and long-term revenue opportunities. http://www.evotecoai.com Contact: Evotec OAI AG Anne Hennecke Investor Relations & Corporate Communications Phone: +49.(0)40.56081-286 E-Mail: anne.hennecke@evotecoai.com About Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd. Takeda is a research-based global company with its main focus on pharmaceuticals. More than 1,000 researchers at Takeda carry out world-class research using advanced technology in such fields as human genetics, receptors, and enzymes. As the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and one of the leaders in the world, Takeda is committed to striving toward better health for individuals and progress in medicine by developing superior pharmaceutical products. http://www.takeda.co.jp/index-e.html end of message, (c)DGAP 01.08.2003 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 566480; ISIN: DE0005664809; Index: TecDAX, NEMAX 50 Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 010801 Aug 03