• Dr John Kemp joins from Roche to become Chief Executive Officer of Evotec
• Neurosciences GmbH with responsibility for Discovery Programmes (Central
• Nervous System)
• New post of President of Discovery Services, the Company's core business, to be created
• Sean Marett appointed Chief Business Officer
• Dr Mario Polywka, Chief Operating Officer, leaves to take up senior industry role

Hamburg, Germany | Abingdon, UK - Evotec OAI AG, Hamburg, Germany (Neuer Markt: EVT), a partner for integrated high-value-added drug discovery to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, today announced a number of key management appointments designed to enhance its offering of integrated discovery services and programmes and to prepare the Company for the next phase of its growth.
 
Dr John Kemp, 49, will join Evotec OAI as Chief Executive Officer of Evotec Neurosciences GmbH (ENS), effective July 1, 2002. ENS is a subsidiary of Evotec OAI focussing on Alzheimer's disease programmes. Dr Kemp has 18 years' research experience in the area of Central Nervous System (CNS) diseases and has strong links with the neuroscience community. He joined Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, in 1994, where most recently he was Vice President and Head of Preclinical CNS Research.
 
As a consequence of increasing demand for integrated "Target-to-IND-Services" covering all biology and chemistry aspects of drug discovery, Evotec OAI will create a new position, President of Discovery Services, its core business, to lead its chemistry services operations in Abingdon, UK, and the biology services operations in Hamburg, Germany. This organisational change is designed to emphasise the seamless integration of Evotec OAI's multidisciplinary centres of excellence in Hamburg and Abingdon. The recruitment process for this post is now underway, and in the interim the role will be filled by Chief Executive Officer Joern Aldag.
 
To reflect the Group's strategy of building significant partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies, Sean Marett, 37, Commercial Director, is promoted to Chief Business Officer and Member of the Management Board, effective July 1, 2002. He joined the Company in April 2001 and has since contributed significantly to the Company's success by establishing a powerful marketing and sales organisation and signing many partnership contracts, including Evotec OAI's significant new agreements or contract extensions with Merck & Co, Roche, Amgen, Pharmacia, Serono and Vertex. Before joining Evotec OAI, Sean Marett was Director of New Product Development, US Operating Division at GlaxoSmithKline.
 
Evotec OAI regrets to announce the departure of Dr Mario Polywka, Chief Operating Officer, who is leaving to take up another senior role in the industry after 11 years at  Evotec OAI and Oxford Asymmetry International (OAI).  He will leave the Company at the end of August 2002. Dr Polywka has played a major part in the growth and development of the OAI chemistry business, and in the merger and subsequent integration of Evotec Biosystems and OAI in 2000.
 
Joern Aldag, President and Chief Executive Officer of Evotec OAI, said:
"Evotec OAI owes a great deal to Mario's operational leadership and chemistry expertise. Joining OAI as its very first employee from Oxford University in 1991, Mario played a key role in developing Evotec OAI into a leading integrated drug discovery engine. He leaves behind a well-organised and effective operation. We thank him for his enormous contribution over the years, and wish him every success in his new role."
 
He added: "The appointment of a President for Drug Discovery Services to oversee both chemistry and biology will reinforce our focus on discovery and will further integrate our offering to customers. We look forward to making a further announcement on this in due course. In a further strengthening of our management team, both John Kemp and Sean Marett bring essential skills and experience from the pharmaceutical industry, which will help us to implement the next phase of our growth strategy. These key appointments will make a significant contribution to the continued successful growth of our business as a leader in Discovery Services and Discovery Programmes".
 

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 nearly 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 Neuer Markt of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since November 1999 (NM: EVT).