• $ 60 M FINANCING ROUND INCLUDES NEW INVESTOR NOVO HOLDINGS AS WELL AS EXISTING INVESTORS EVOTEC, BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB, AND GT HEALTHCARE CAPITAL
• PROCEEDS TO EXPAND EXISTING PORTFOLIO AND PIPELINE AS WELL AS FOR FURTHER INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION

Hamburg, Germany, 26 May 2020:
Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) today announced that the Company has participated in the Series C funding round of Exscientia, the world-leading Artificial Intelligence (“AI”)-driven drug discovery company. The funding round led by new investor Novo Holdings raised $ 60 m with the existing investors’ consortium consisting of Evotec, Bristol Myers Squibb, and GT Healthcare Capital also participating in the round.

Exscientia will use the proceeds of this financing round to expand the company’s existing portfolio and pipeline, by launching new projects, progressing advanced projects to the clinic, and expanding AI biology as part of its full-stack capabilities. In addition, the company plans to accelerate its international expansion, including the build-out of its presence in the USA. Robert Ghenchev, Senior Partner and Head of Novo Growth, the growth equity arm of Novo Holdings, joins Exscientia’s board of directors as part of the financing round.

Dr Werner Lanthaler, Chief Executive Officer of Evotec, commented: “Evotec was the first strategic and operational investor in Exscientia and we are extremely pleased it has made such impressive progress since that time and to be part of this significant fund raising. Evotec and Exscientia, together, look forward to realising further synergistic potential in innovative drug discovery.”

Robert Ghenchev at Novo Holdings commented: “Through its impressive track record to date, Exscientia has demonstrated the value of combining deep scientific expertise with cutting-edge technology capabilities to significantly accelerate drug discovery. Novo Holdings’ investment underscores our interest in supporting technology companies that enable life science research and innovation, and our commitment to this area. We see significant opportunity for the company to further grow its participation in the drug discovery ecosystem and are excited to work with the Exscientia team in realising this vision.”

“This investment highlights the increasing commitment to the potential of AI to transform drug discovery and the excitement that we have garnered around the innovative work we are doing at Exscientia”, said Prof. Andrew Hopkins, CEO and founder of Exscientia. “We have now demonstrated multiple times that our platform can accelerate the time between the start of an idea and a viable new drug candidate for patients in need of treatments, fast tracking the entire R&D process. We are delighted that Novo Holdings, one of the world’s preeminent life science investors, recognises the potential of the platform to transform the pharmaceutical industry.”

ABOUT EXSCIENTIA

Exscientia is a global Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company. By fusing the power of the original AI with the experience of seasoned drug hunters, Exscientia’s innovative Centaur Chemist™ platform enables breakthrough productivity gains as well as new approaches to improve drug efficacy. Novel compounds are automatically designed and prioritised for synthesis by its AI systems, which rapidly evolve compounds towards the desired candidate criteria for clinical development. For more information visit us on www.exscientia.ai or follow us on Twitter @exscientialtd.

ABOUT NOVO HOLDINGS

Novo Holdings, a Danish private limited liability company wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, is recognised as a leading international life science investor with a focus on creating long-term value. As a life science investor, Novo Holdings provides seed and venture capital to development-stage companies and takes significant ownership positions in growth and well-established companies. Novo Holdings also manages a broad portfolio of diversified financial assets. For more information, visit www.novoholdings.dk. 

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.