As part of an agreement that began in 1998, Vertex has utilised a broad range of chemistries Evotec OAI has to offer and Evotec OAI has provided compounds and compound arrays for pharmaceutical screening and lead optimisation.
 
"We are proud to have significantly contributed to the optimisation of one of Vertex's clinical candidates. The achievement of this clinical milestone is a true validation of the quality of our chemistry support," said Joern Aldag, President and Chief Executive Officer of Evotec OAI.
 
"Evotec OAI's quality of services has provided a valuable complement to our internal resources," said Dr. Scott Harbeson, Principal Investigator, Chemistry at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. "We have worked closely with Evotec OAI, and the advancement of this drug candidate is a positive result for the relationship between Vertex and Evotec OAI."
About Evotec OAI AG

Evotec OAI offers a comprehensive range of high-value added services and products required to increase the efficiency and at the same time reduce the risk in the identification of new drugs. By integrating proprietary state-of-the-art technologies and processes in biology, chemistry and screening, the Company has established a unique position for all the critical elements in the drug discovery and development process - from target to clinical development. Due to its extensive know how and experience Evotec OAI is the ideal partner for pharma and biotech companies world-wide. To date, Evotec OAI has completed over 1,200 projects with 150 companies, including all of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies and major biotechs.

The Company employs more than 600 people, primarily at its two main sites at Hamburg in Germany and Abingdon in the UK. Subsidiaries are located in Europe and North America. In 2001 Evotec OAI achieved revenues of EUR 63.2 million. Evotec OAI shares are listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (NM: EVT).

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company. Vertex seeks to discover, develop, and commercialise major pharmaceutical products independently and with partners. Chemogenomics, Vertex's proprietary, systematic, genomics-based platform, is designed to accelerate the discovery of new drugs and to expand intellectual property coverage of drug candidate compounds and classes of related compounds. This approach, which targets gene families, has formed the basis for several commercial collaborations under which Vertex retains rights to downstream revenue. Vertex's first approved product is Ageneraseâ (amprenavir), an HIV protease inhibitor, which Vertex co-promotes with GlaxoSmithKline. Vertex has more than 12 drug candidates in clinical and preclinical development to treat viral diseases, inflammation, cancer, autoimmune diseases, neurological disorders and genetic disorders.


Contact:
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc
Michael Partridge
Director, Corporate Communications
Phone: +1-617-444-6108