Evotec and Celmatix enter into strategic collaboration
- PARTNERSHIP LEVERAGES COMPANIES’ COMPLEMENTARY STRENGTHS
- THE GOAL IS TO DEVELOP NOVEL PRE-CLINICAL PROGRAMMES FOR HIGH UNMET MEDICAL NEED CONDITIONS FOR WOMEN
Hamburg, Germany, and New York, USA, 09 October 2019:
Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) and Celmatix Inc., a precision medicine company with a proprietary multi-omics platform, today announced a partnership to develop pre-clinical programmes in prevalent but underserved conditions affecting women’s reproductive health, including polycystic ovary syndrome (“PCOS”), endometriosis, and infertility.
The pairing of the best-in-class capabilities of Evotec and Celmatix has the potential to impact the lives of millions of women living with these reproductive health conditions by bringing long overdue innovation in the form of therapies with novel mechanisms of action. In this research collaboration, Evotec will be responsible for medicinal chemistry, in vitro and in vivo pharmacology, in addition to its broad development capabilities and expertise, while Celmatix will contribute novel drug target discovery, powered by its proprietary multi-omics Reproductive Atlas™ platform.
Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, commented: “We are delighted to partner with Celmatix on this initiative. At Evotec we focus on patient-centric approaches and leveraging human genetic and big data into women’s health specific drug discovery is long overdue. We are convinced that our combined efforts will lead to highly innovative approaches with the potential to broadly impact women-focused unmet medical needs.”
“Reproductive health conditions collectively impact over 30% of women around the world and set the stage for later conditions such as cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. Endometriosis alone is estimated to cost the US economy over $78 billion annually, and available medical interventions have only limited utility. It’s time to move beyond the incremental improvements we have seen in the standard of care for these conditions and bring true innovation to the field.” said Dr Piraye Yurttas Beim, CEO and founder of Celmatix. “Through combining our vast datasets and deep expertise in women’s health with Evotec’s proven experience in therapeutic discovery, we are poised to catalyse real change and finally provide women therapies they deserve.”
No financial terms of this collaboration were disclosed.
About PCOS and endometriosis
Across the globe an estimated one in 10 women has PCOS, which is a leading cause of infertility and puts women at increased risk for diabetes, among other life-threatening conditions. The current standard of care and treatment protocol for PCOS involves the use of estrogen modulators or antagonists, hormonal contraceptives, and use of diabetes drug metformin, to help manage symptoms – not treat the underlying disease.
For women with endometriosis, a condition that causes debilitating pain and often leads to infertility as well, it is virtually the same story; the current treatment paradigm includes drug-induced osteoporosis and menopause and, like PCOS, fails to address the root cause of the condition. Despite PCOS and endometriosis representing estimated drug markets of $ 3.3 bn and $ 2 bn respectively, the pipeline of new therapies has largely been limited to incremental improvements in the standard of care, with safety and efficacy remaining a significant barrier to treatment for patients.
ABOUT CELMATIX INC.
Celmatix is a next-generation women’s health company transforming care through genomics and big data. Founded in 2009 and based in New York City, the company’s research-driven products include the Fertilome® test, the world’s first multigene panel test that reveals what a woman’s DNA says about her reproductive health, Polaris®, a real-time predictive analytics platform that helps physicians optimize patient outcomes and improve the patient experience, and MyFertility Compass™, a free educational tool that gives women who are currently trying to conceive insights into their fertility potential. In 2018, the company launched Celmatix Biosciences, an AI-driven research-stage biotech division focused on the development of next-generation therapeutics.
Media Contact:
Colleen McMillen, Celmatix
c.mcmillen@celmatix.com
+1.917.344.9360
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.