Hamburg, Germany I Oxford, UK - 24th June 2009: Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT; NASDAQ: EVTC), a leading provider in the discovery and development of novel small molecule drugs, today announced the expansion of its ion channel capabilities with the addition of unique, ion channel focused libraries and additional electrophysiology screening platforms. 

Evotec is already a leading provider of ion channel services from high throughput screening to medicinal chemistry and has successfully progressed ion channel drug candidates into the clinic. Today, it is pleased to announce the addition of ion channel focused libraries to its screening library.  The libraries will be integrated into Evotec's screening library, providing Evotec's screening partners access to a high quality, diverse and highly relevant screening library for high-throughput screening collaborations, including the screening of ion channel targets. 

Furthermore, Evotec has increased its considerable capability in ion channel screening through the addition of a Sophion Q-Patch electrophysiology platform as well as manual rigs equipped with Cellectricon's Dynaflow® fast perfusion electrophysiology system.  This instrumentation will expand Evotec's capabilities in ion channel screening which already includes an IonWorks® Quattro(TM) (Molecular Devices) for high-throughput electrophysiology, a PatchXpress® (Molecular Devices) and PatchLiner© (Nanion) systems for medium-throughput electrophysiology as well as two planar semi-automated Port-A-Patch® (Nanion) and numerous manual rigs. This platform and know-how together with the screening library and Evotec's medicinal chemistry expertise is accessible to Evotec's alliance partners, providing the most comprehensive approach for ion channel drug discovery. 

With in-depth knowledge and extensive experience in ion channels, Evotec has already delivered a number of successful projects for pharmaceutical and biotech companies as well as internally on its preclinical P2X2/3 and clinical P2X7 and VR1 programs and has now expanded its capabilities within this key area of research in order to initiate new alliances.

Commenting on the extended ion channel offerings, Dr. Mario Polywka, Chief Operating Officer at Evotec said: "We are really pleased to announce the latest enhancement to our screening library.  Our extensive experience in ion channels and proven expertise in electrophysiology combined with our unique screening libraries further our ability to support our client's early stage drug discovery as an integral part of the overall drug discovery and development process.  This extension to the libraries, coupled with our years of experience in ion channel research and development, maintains our position as the collaborator of choice for the Pharma and Biotech industry."