Evotec Stock Up As It Extends Neurodegeneration Partnership With Bristol Myers Squibb

(RTTNews) - Shares of Evotec SE (EVO) were gaining around 4 percent in the German trading after the drug maker announced Tuesday that it has extended and expanded its strategic partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) in neurodegeneration, originally signed in 2016, for further eight years.

Under the neuroscience drug development partnership, Evotec receives a $50 million upfront payment, undisclosed license and performance milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties up to low double-digit percentages on product sales.

Including the upfront and downstream performance milestone payments, the overall transaction results in a deal potential of $4 billion.

With the planned 8-year extension of the strategic alliance, the companies aim to further broaden the programme pipeline in neurodegenerative diseases.

Evotec and Bristol Myers Squibb, formerly Celgene, initiated the collaboration in 2016 to identify disease-modifying treatments for a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases.

The company noted that the partnership has already been successful in generating a pipeline of discovery and pre-clinical-stage programmes. A first programme, EVT8683, was in-licensed by Bristol Myers Squibb in September 2021, following the successful filing of an IND application with the FDA and has proceeded into the clinical Phase I.

Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, said, "This next extension beyond 2030 is a testament to the success and trust of the partnership as well as to the high degree of confidence placed in our platforms and the complementary approach to generate a leading pipeline of highly innovative drug candidates."

In Germany, Evotec shares were trading at 18.53 euros, up 4.28 percent.

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