Evotec expands its iPSC discovery platform

• ACQUIRED ASSETS FROM NCARDIA AG INCLUDE IP PORTFOLIO, IPSC-BASED CELLULAR PRODUCTS AND AN EXPERIENCED STEM CELL BIOLOGY TEAM 
• EXPANSION OF IPSC DISCOVERY PLATFORM STRENGTHENS EVOTEC’S POSITION AS A LEADER IN INNOVATION-DRIVEN TRANSLATIONAL BIOLOGY

Hamburg, Germany, 15 July 2019: Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) today announced that the Company has acquired assets from the stem cell specialist Ncardia AG to advance Evotec’s iPSC platform, one of the leading iPSC-based discovery platforms in the industry. The acquired assets include intellectual property relevant for iPSC-based phenotypic drug discovery, an existing cellular product business around iPSC-derived cells, as well as 17 strong team of stem cell biology experts operating from laboratories at the BioCampus Cologne.

The team has a proven track record of generating multiple disease-relevant cell types from iPSCs and their application in drug discovery. The combination with Evotec’s existing expertise in iPSC biology and the Company’s leading drug discovery platforms will create new opportunities for innovative biology and adds capacity for new and existing partnerships.

Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, commented: “IPSC is a game changing technology with broad applicability across a variety of different indications and drug discovery and development phases. Additional expertise and capacity in the iPSC space as well as a substantial partner network will allow us to further accelerate our efforts to build a world-leading iPSC translational biology platform across different disease areas. We warmly welcome our new team within the Evotec Family.”

No financial details of the transaction were disclosed.

About Evotec and iPSC

Induced pluripotent stem cells (also known as iPS cells or iPSCs) are a type of pluripotent stem cell that can be generated directly from adult cells. The iPSC technology was pioneered by Shinya Yamanaka’s lab in Kyoto, Japan, who showed in 2006 that the introduction of four specific genes encoding transcription factors could convert adult cells into pluripotent stem cells. He was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize along with Sir John Gurdon “for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent”. Pluripotent stem cells hold great promise in the field of regenerative medicine. Because they can propagate indefinitely, as well as give rise to every other cell type in the body (such as neurons, heart, pancreatic and liver cells), they represent a single source of cells that could be used to replace those lost to damage or disease.

Evotec has built an industrialised iPSC infrastructure that represents one of the largest and most sophisticated iPSC platforms in the industry. Evotec’s iPSC platform has been developed over the last years with the goal to industrialise iPSC-based drug screening in terms of throughput, reproducibility and robustness to reach the highest industrial standards.

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.