Hamburg, Germany | Oxfordshire, UK | Boston, USA - Evotec OAI AG (Deutsche Börse: EVT, TecDAX 30), a leading partner for integrated high-value-added drug discovery and development solutions to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and Oxford Bioscience Partners (OBP), Boston, USA, a premier life-sciences venture capital firm, announced today that they have expanded their 2002 agreement by integrating Evotec OAI's newly established rational drug design platform, EVOrationale(TM).
 
Evotec OAI has recently built up its EVOrationale(TM) platform consisting of protein engineering and production, X-ray crystallography and computational chemistry to assist their customers in delivering de novo structure determination, validation of screening hits and structure guided lead optimisation programmes. The platform has been fully integrated into the company's world-class drug discovery and development capabilities including screening, medicinal chemistry and ADMET profiling. Over the past months, Evotec OAI has successfully applied the new platform to a range of targets including kinases, GPCRs, proteases, enzymes and more complex protein-ligand interactions.
 
Bernard Questier, Chief Business Officer at Evotec OAI, said: "Evotec OAI has a long-standing track record in developing superior knowledge-driven drug discovery solutions. With the recent build-up of our computational chemistry capabilities including a database of more than 5.5 million compounds for virtual screening purposes and a dedicated structural biology group, we are uniquely positioned to offer high quality, high speed integrated structure-guided drug discovery programmes to our partners."
 
Philip Borden at Oxford Bioscience Partners added: "Since inception of our collaboration we are highly impressed by Evotec OAI's drug discovery and development capabilities and have successfully used Evotec OAI in seven of our portfolio companies. With this additional offering, Evotec OAI clearly brings our portfolio companies significant value-added capabilities in the area of structural biology."
 
About Evotec OAI AG
Evotec OAI has established itself as the partner of choice for drug discovery and development solutions for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide, maintaining its leadership role through innovation and unmatched customer service.
The Company's business strategy is clearly focussed 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. In addition, the Company engages in selected discovery programmes itself to develop drug candidates for early out-licensing. Evotec OAI's instrument and technology business is now successfully handled by its affiliate, Evotec Technologies.
With over 600 people in Hamburg, Germany and Oxfordshire, 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.
www.evotecoai.com
 
About Oxford Bioscience Partners
Oxford Bioscience Partners (OBP) is a life science venture capital firm that provides equity financing and management assistance to start-up early-stage, entrepreneurial-driven companies in the bioscience and healthcare industries. The General Partners of OBP currently manage venture funds with combined committed capital of more than $800 million. Oxford Bioscience Partners has achieved considerable success and above average returns in the bioscience field over the past 20 years through investments in more than 100 companies worldwide. More information on Oxford Bioscience Partners is available at www.oxbio.com.

Contact:
Anne Hennecke, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, Phone: +49-40-56081-286, anne.hennecke@evotecoai.com

Contact:
Anne Hennecke, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, Phone: +49-40-56081-286, anne.hennecke@evotecoai.com