Milestone Reached In Neuroscience Collaboration Between Evotec And Bristol Myers Squibb
Evotec earns $20M from Bristol Myers for pre-clinical neuroscience advances. Phase II study in 2024.
Breaking News
Jun 14, 2024
Mrudula Kulkarni
Evotec SE has achieved significant scientific advancements
in its neuroscience partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb, leading to a
research payment of $20 million to Evotec. A target-driven initiative has
advanced into the late stages of pre-clinical development, further enriching
the portfolio of discoveries that the collaboration has generated, aimed at
progressing to clinical-stage programs in neurodegenerative diseases.Evotec and
Bristol Myers Squibb initiated their strategic partnership in December 2016
with the goal of discovering treatments that modify diseases across various
neurodegenerative conditions. Existing approved drugs largely focus on
short-term symptom management, highlighting a critical need for therapies that
can effectively slow or halt disease advancement.
Bristol Myers Squibb licensed EVT8683 from Evotec in
September 2021, renaming it BMS-986419. After a promising Phase I trial,
Bristol Myers Squibb revealed plans to initiate a Phase II study for BMS-986419
in 2024. In March 2023, Bristol Myers Squibb and Evotec prolonged and broadened
their collaboration for another 8 years. Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec,
Dr. Cord Dohrmann said that “We are excited to further expand our pipeline with
another high-potential program progressing into late pre-clinical development,
demonstrating the exceptional productivity of our neuroscience partnership with
Bristol Myers Squibb and our shared commitment to innovation and patient care.”
He further added, “Together with Bristol Myers Squibb we
have been able to advance a growing portfolio of programs to critical
inflection points, bringing us closer to our joint goal of delivering new
therapeutic options for patients suffering from devastating neurological
disorders.”