Hamburg, Germany, Dundee, UK - 26 April 2016: Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) and Exscientia Ltd (Dundee, UK) today announced a collaboration with the objective to discover and develop first-in-class bispecific small molecule immuno-oncology therapies. Exscientia will contribute its unique algorithmic design platform while Evotec, mainly through its Toulouse site, will be responsible for medicinal chemistry, in vitro and in vivo pharmacology as well as development capabilities and expertise. 

Application of bispecific small molecules is an exciting strategy to significantly expand and enhance efficacy beyond conventional single target therapies. The initial focus will be cancer-related adenosine targets which are increasingly recognised to play important roles in immuno-oncology. Combining adenosine-based mechanisms with related targets holds great promise in boosting efficacy and addressing larger patient populations through a single small molecule drug. 

Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, commented: "Polypharmacy is a widely used strategy to manage diseases more effectively. Ex scientia has built an outstanding platform to purposely design bispecific small molecules that can address multiple targets through a single molecule. Together we are well positioned to discover and develop a new generation of small molecule immuno-oncology therapies." 

Commenting on the relationship, Andrew Hopkins, CEO, Exscientia, said: "This is an ideal partnership to develop an innovative immuno-oncology portfolio where our focus is on delivering efficacious drug candidates to tackle the inherent challenges of the complex biology. Evotec have an excellent track record in project delivery and their proven track record in regarding efficiency gains in drug discovery chime with our own." 

This is a co-owned, risk-shared-partnership, no further financial details were disclosed.

ABOUT EXSCIENTIA LTD 

ex scientia Ltd is a privately owned company developing new medicines for a wide range of human diseases where improved efficacy is required. ex scientia is the first company to develop a systematic algorithmic discovery platform to automatically design molecules to complex target product profiles. ex scientia has successfully applied its algorithm-driven design principles to developed novel molecules with complex bispecifics, and phenotypic product profiles. Adopting this strategy increases the efficiency and effectiveness of drug discovery. As the industry pioneer of automated drug design, ex scientia aims to create exceptional value for its partners, by delivering effective treatments to the clinic. For additional information please go to www.exscientia.co.uk. 

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.