27. März 2019 Collaboration in immuno-oncology: Evotec and The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research

Evotec AG and The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research today announced that they have entered into a research collaboration to discover and develop first-in-class therapeutics in oncology. The collaboration, for an initial period of two years, is based on Evotec’s new proprietary drug discovery platform TargetAlloMod, which is focused on disrupting cell signalling via a novel mechanism of action. This approach is expected to deliver highly potent and more durable treatments for both clinically validated and novel immuno-oncology targets. The Mark Foundation's focus of funding highly innovative oncology research and drug discovery is extremely well aligned with Evotec's mission to exploit novel platforms for the generation of first-in-class and clearly differentiated therapies. Under the terms of the agreement, The Mark Foundation will provide research funding to Evotec. Evotec will in turn be responsible for subsequent partnering of the programmes and/or the platform. The Mark Foundation will use its share of potential financial returns to expand its grant portfolio. Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, said: "Evotec is very pleased to partner with The Mark Foundation, who is truly dedicated to accelerating potential cures for cancer by investing into promising new technology platforms and well-differentiated drug discovery projects. The support from The Mark Foundation allows us to engage multiple targets through a novel mechanism of action which is expected to deliver more potent but also more durable drug candidates." Dr Michele Cleary, Chief Executive Officer of The Mark Foundation, said: "Our partnership with Evotec fits well with our goal of advancing early-stage therapeutic innovation. We are excited about the prospect of expanding the options for targeting some of the most challenging but important molecules in cancer immunology." No financial details of the collaboration were disclosed. Source: Evotec Press Release from March 26th, 2019, https://www.evotec.com/en/invest/news--announcements/press-releases/p/evotec-and-the-mark-foundation-for-cancer-research-announce-strategic-collaboration-in-immuno-oncology-5793