Evotec and Indivumed achieve milestone in joint strategic drug discovery collaboration
- COLLABORATION SUCCESSFULLY IDENTIFIED THREE NOVEL DRUG TARGETS FOR THE TREATMENT OF COLORECTAL CANCER
- THROUGH DATAMINING OF INDIVUMED’S “INDIVUTYPE” MULTI-OMICS CANCER DATABASE USING EVOTEC’S PROPRIETARY BIOINFORMATICS ANALYSIS PLATFORM “PANHUNTER”
- INDIVUMED’S ANALYTICS CONTRIBUTED ADDITIONAL CANDIDATE TARGETS
Hamburg, Germany, 30 September 2019:
Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) and Indivumed GmbH announced today that the first milestone has been successfully achieved in their joint collaboration to identify new therapeutic targets for the treatment of colorectal cancer.
Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Evotec received full access to the colorectal cancer (“CRC”) multi-omics data of IndivuType. The milestone of selecting three novel drug targets was achieved in less than three months.
The first set of identified targets will now be progressed towards first-in-class therapeutics for the treatment of CRC using Evotec’s multimodality drug discovery and development platforms. Four additional candidate targets identified by Indivumed’s bioinformatic and analytics will also enter the joint development programme.
Indivumed’s commitment to generating high quality and extensive cancer patient information is complementary and synergistic to Evotec’s expertise in analysing highly complex multi-omics data. Evotec will be responsible for subsequent partnering of the programmes and/or the platform.
Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, said: “The rapid identification of truly novel drug targets reflects the power of our approach to precision medicine that we are pursuing together with Indivumed. The rigorous quality standards employed by Indivumed in the generation of the IndivuType multi-omics patient database enables novel insights into target-disease associations in colorectal cancer which are expected to deliver more effective treatment options.”
Prof. Dr Hartmut Juhl, Chief Executive Officer of Indivumed, said: “We are pleased with the rapid progress being made in our collaboration with Evotec to discover novel drugs that will advance the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and potentially other cancer entities. IndivuType has enabled CRC subpopulations to be characterised based on molecular phenotypes with greater precision than has been possible before. As a result, the targets that have been identified are expected to deliver more effective and durable drugs to transform CRC patient care.”
About Colorectal Cancer (“CRC”)
Colorectal cancer, a cancer that starts in the colon or rectum is the third most common malignancy and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Rapid increases in both CRC incidence and mortality are now observed in Eastern Europe, Asia, and South America. In contrast, CRC incidence and mortality rates have been stabilising or declining in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and several Western European countries. The reasons for decreasing trends in CRC mortality are knowledge of risk factors, early detection and prevention, and improvements in perioperative care. Since the five-year overall survival for patients with metastatic CRC is poor (14%), there yet remains a strong need to develop new therapeutics for this disease.
About IndivuType
IndivuType, a Business Unit of Indivumed, offers the world’s first true multi-omics database for individualised cancer therapy, analysing the highest quality cancer biospecimens to generate the most comprehensive dataset available today, including genomics (WGS), transcriptomics, proteomics, phosphoproteomics and clinical and outcome information. This platform enables novel discoveries in cancer biology for the post-genomics era. Indivumed is deeply committed to the quality of the IndivuType ecosystem along every step of the process, starting with stringent SOP-driven sample collection procedures combined with thorough validation of clinical information and data integrity. IndivuType’s powerful database and Artificial Intelligence tools can forge a path to accelerate clinical trials, enable robust protocol design, and generate insights for precision oncology treatment and improved patient outcomes.
ABOUT INDIVUMED GMBH
Indivumed is a science-led, integrated global oncology company. Our platform is an enabler for the next generation of precision oncology through our proprietary multi-omic tumor database and customized data analytics, underpinned by our global network of affiliated clinics with gold-standard quality of biospecimens.
Through our unique platform, we offer specialized products and services that support our customers in biomarker and target discovery, drug development, clinical trials, individualized therapy and more.
Indivumed media contact
Chryssa Zizos
CEO, Live Wire Strategic Communications
czizos@livewiredc.com
T. 00+1+703.519.1600.
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.