07. August 2015 Sanofi and Evotec align forces to develop next generation therapies in diabetes

Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) and Sanofi today announced a strategic collaboration in the field of diabetes. The goal of this collaboration will be to develop a beta cell replacement therapy based on functional human beta cells derived from human stem cells. In addition, Sanofi and Evotec will also use human beta cells for high-throughput drug screening to identify beta cell active small molecules or biologics. Both companies will make significant contributions to this collaboration in terms of expertise, platforms and resources. The collaboration will further enhance and complement Sanofi's extensive diabetes portfolio and will extend Evotec's metabolic disease and stem cell-based drug discovery programs. The agreement between Evotec and Sanofi triggers an upfront payment of EUR 3 m, potential pre-clinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones which could total over EUR 300 m as well as significant royalties and research payments. Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, commented: "The use of human stem cells in drug discovery and development is on the rise and will increasingly shift the landscape from symptomatic treatments to disease-modifying therapies also in diabetes. We are very proud to partner with Sanofi, one of the leading diabetes companies in this exciting novel field of drug discovery and development." Philip Larsen, MD, PhD, Vice President, Global Head of Diabetes Research and Translational Science at Sanofi, added: "Combining Sanofi's and Evotec's beta cell and stem cell expertise in drug discovery and development will enable optimal exploitation of the potential of stem cell derived human beta cells for therapy and drug screening in diabetes. We are excited about the prospects of this collaboration as both companies provide highly complementary expertise to translate human stem cell technologies into highly innovative new products."