Antibody Drug Discovery

Evotec offers highly versatile antibody discovery platforms designed to support a broad spectrum of discovery programs. With extensive experience across numerous therapeutic areas, we combine scientific expertise, advanced technologies, and integrated workflows to accelerate the path from target identification to clinical candidate.  

Our end-to-end capabilities enable seamless progression across all stages of antibody discovery:  

• De-novo antibody discovery for therapeutic programs, paired with early functional validation 
• Targeted optimization strategies, including affinity maturation supported by structural insights and AI-driven modeling 
• Dedicated workflows for research reagent antibodies, tailored for applications such as IHC, FACS, Western blotting, and immune capture 
• Flexible engagement models, with support for standalone Hit identification or fully integrated drug discovery programs.  

Evotec brings deep experience across a wide range of antibody formats and modalities, enabling tailored solutions for diverse therapeutic strategies:  

• Full-length IgG antibodies (wildtype and Fc-modified variants) 
• Bispecific antibodies, including immune cell engagers (ICE) 
• Single-domain antibodies (VHH) 
• T-cell receptor (TCR)-based modalities 
• Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), including advanced payload approaches such as ASOs 

Our antibody discovery and development strength is built on close collaboration of multidisciplinary expert teams. We combine high-quality antigen generation, advanced cellular model systems, and disease-relevant in vitro and in vivo profiling with robust developability assessments. This integrated approach enables early de-risking, ensuring optimized immunogenicity and pharmacokinetics (PK), and ultimately maximizes the probability of success for our partners.  

At Evotec, flexibility, scientific excellence, and seamless integration are at the core of delivering high-quality antibody therapeutics: from concept to clinic.  

Building on Evotec’s versatile discovery capabilities, our antibody platforms are designed to identify the most effective strategy for each individual target. By combining diverse repertoires, advanced library technologies, and highly customized screening approaches, we ensure optimal antibody generation, even for the most challenging targets.

Evotec provides access to a wide range of antibody repertoires and formats – including Fab, VHH and TCR – enabling tailored solutions for different therapeutic needs.  

We profile immune repertoires by generating high-quality immune libraries or hybridoma-based screening approaches. Customized immunization protocols using optimized immunogens, such as proteins, peptides, cells, and DNA are applied across multiple species, including humanized mice (Alloy Tx platform), wild-type rodents, and camelids, ensuring broad epitope coverage and high-affinity binders.  

Our fully human Fab libraries, derived from a broad donor base, provide a very high diversity, closely recapitulating the natural human antibody repertoire.  

In addition, Evotec leverages in silico-designed synthetic repertoires combined with custom DNA synthesis. This approach enables precise control over library composition and supports the rapid generation of tailored binders against difficult or novel targets.  

Evotec’s integrated approach allows us to align library selection and screening technologies precisely with each discovery program. By combining the right repertoire with optimized screening workflows, we maximize the probability of identifying high-quality antibody candidates with the desired specificity, affinity, and functional profile.

Together with our E2E discovery and development expertise, these robust platforms ensure a seamless transition from target to candidate – delivering high-quality therapeutic antibodies with speed and confidence.  

Evotec’s pre-clinical department offers the full range of in vitro and in vivo GLP and non-GLP pre-clinical evaluation studies to thoroughly assess the safety profile of the drug candidate. Our clients and collaboration partners can benefit from our extensive understanding of PK/PD relationship for human dose prediction.    

Finally, Evotec can perform Biomarker discovery and Biomarker studies to enable diagnosis, assessment of target engagement and pharmacodynamics effects, patient stratification or prediction of therapeutic success. In this context, Evotec offers a comprehensive proteomics and ligand binding assay platform to support Biomarker sciences from discovery through to the clinic.

All of this is supported by data-driven solutions to biologics design and manufacturing to ensure smooth transition into development and reduced risk of downstream attrition and delay. 

This unparalleled infrastructure and translational expertise put Evotec in a unique position to conduct leading-edge, integrated monoclonal antibody development programs all the way from target identification to manufacturing.