Evotec and Convergence to collaborate on developing treatments for chronic pain
Supported by £2.4m grant from the UK\'s Technology Strategy Board
Evotec, a German drug discovery company, has agreed to collaborate with Panion, a subsidiary of Convergence Pharmaceuticals Holdings, for the discovery and development of compounds against a novel GPCR pain target. Convergence is based in Cambridge, UK and a developer of novel, high value analgesics to treat chronic pain.
Panion has received a grant of £2.4m from the Technology Strategy Board, under the Biomedical Catalyst Early Stage Round 2 grant for the research.
Evotec will focus on key drug discovery activities and work closely with the Convergence team to identify pre-clinical candidates over the next three years.
Further financial details have not been released.
Dr Mario Polywka, Evotec's Chief Operating Officer of Evotec, said: 'Pain remains a major unmet medical need with estimates of 1.5 billion people worldwide suffering from this often chronic ailment. This alliance with Convergence marries our complementary expertise in the field of pain and leverages our world- class platform for addressing targets associated with pain. Supported by the Biomedical Catalyst Early Stage Round 2 grant, we look forward to collaborating with Convergence to bring a new class of analgesic candidates to the clinic.'
Brenda Reynolds, Chief Operating Officer of Convergence, added: 'we are confident that, with our knowledge of the therapeutic area of pain and Evotec’s expertise in drug discovery, this partnership will prove valuable to both parties and help to facilitate the delivery of new treatments to patients.'
