USA — Pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has once again expanded its collaboration with Evotec, a drug discovery and development company.
BMS has paid another US$50 million upfront to deepen their partnership on drugs aimed at treating neurodegenerative disorders.
This upgrade extends the deal first signed in 2016 with BMS’ Celgene division for another eight years.
The extended agreement also includes undisclosed license and performance milestone payments, which increase the overall value of the partnership to about US$4 billion.
According to the two partners, the collaboration has been “highly productive in generating a promising pipeline of discovery to clinical-stage programs” across a “broad range of neurodegenerative diseases.”
This is the second time that the agreement has been extended. In 2019, BMS paid US$6 million to include a new cell type in the screening program.
BMS has already exercised an option on one of the candidates from this collaboration, paying US$20 million for the rights to EVT8683, a small-molecule drug that targets a key cellular stress response.
The drug emerged from a phenotypic screening approach based on Evotec’s induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) drug discovery platform. This platform uses human model screens to quickly identify new therapies.
EVT8683 is an elF2b activator that has been shown in preclinical testing to prevent neurological defects associated with chronic integrated stress response (ISR).
The ISR results in the expression of stress proteins in cells that can kill neurons. The drug’s mechanism of action is therefore particularly relevant to the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
The expanded alliance between BMS and Evotec represents a significant investment in the development of new therapies for neurodegenerative disorders.
EVT8683, the small-molecule drug developed through the collaboration between BMS and Evotec, has shown potential in treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease, and vanishing white matter (VWM) disease.
This drug has progressed to phase 1 development, but its lead indication has not been disclosed yet.
In addition to this, BMS has exercised an option on another program that has not been identified. This led to a payment of US$40 million to Evotec in 2021.
This further underscores the commitment of the two companies to collaborating on the development of novel therapies for various diseases.
According to Richard Hargreaves, the Senior Vice President of Neuroscience at BMS, the partnership between the two companies has resulted in the creation of an “exceptional team of cross-functional experts who have built patient-centric biological and analytical systems at scale to identify, validate, and develop novel targets.”
This speaks to the strength of their partnership and their dedication to developing innovative treatments for various diseases.
It is worth noting that BMS and Evotec have another long-running collaboration that began in 2018 and focuses on protein degraders.
This partnership, valued at up to US$5 billion, was extended by eight years last November. The collaboration is focused specifically on molecular glue degraders that destabilize disease-associated proteins by bringing them into proximity with enzymes called E3 ubiquitin ligases, which cause them to be broken down.
Evotec’s collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb is expected to have a significant impact on the company’s already impressive pipeline.
Evotec’s pipeline boasts more than 130 co-owned assets, 18 of which are currently in the clinical stage.
A considerable portion of these assets, approximately 40, are dedicated to neuroscience and pain research.
The collaboration with BMS is just one of many partnerships that Evotec has established in recent years, highlighting the company’s focus on collaboration and innovation.
Earlier this year, Evotec disclosed a partnership with Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen in the field of oncology, which is worth more than US$350 million.
This partnership is yet another testament to Evotec’s commitment to developing novel therapies for a range of diseases.
The collaboration with BMS is just one example of Evotec’s approach to drug discovery and development.
By partnering with other industry leaders, Evotec is able to leverage its expertise and resources to accelerate the development of novel therapies.
This approach has already yielded promising results, with many of Evotec’s assets progressing to the clinical stage.
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