Evotec enters alliance in kidney disease with AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca will provide industrial scope and scale, development expertise and marketing capabilities
German drug discovery firm Evotec has signed an agreement with AstraZeneca to explore compounds and targets for the treatment of chronic kidney disease.
Under the terms of this licence and collaboration agreement, AstraZeneca will gain access to a selected series of molecules identified in a screening effort, which is part of the Hamburg-based firm's systematic kidney disease initiative. This particular programme will explore a key mechanism in the field of chronic kidney disease.
Evotec said AstraZeneca will provide industrial scope and scale as well as pharmaceutical development expertise and marketing capabilities.
The agreement between the two firms includes AstraZeneca making an undisclosed upfront payment as well as pre-clinical, clinical and regulatory milestones to Evotec. Evotec is also eligible for additional royalty payments.
In addition, the German company will receive research funding for work that will be conducted in collaboration with AstraZeneca. Specific financial details have not been disclosed.
Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, said: 'Exploring novel mechanisms and targets in the field of kidney disease is a logical next step for Evotec. AstraZeneca is a great partner sharing not only our vision but also making valuable contributions beyond in an integrated discovery and development process.'
Dr Marcus Schindler, Head of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases iMed at AstraZeneca, added: 'Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (CVMD) represents one of the three core areas for AstraZeneca. Within CVMD, we are committing significant efforts on research and development of potential new treatments for diabetic nephropathy, end-stage as well as chronic kidney disease.
'Our goal is to identify and develop effective therapies to halt or slow down the decline of renal function for patients suffering from kidney diseases.
'This new collaboration complements our research efforts in the renal disease space. Evotec has built a leading drug discovery platform in the field of kidney diseases and is well-positioned to work with us to generate highly innovative drug candidates so that we can accelerate the delivery of new medicines to patients.'