Boehringer and Evotec extend drug discovery collaboration

Evotec, drug discovery and development service providers, and Boehringer aim to jointly identify and develop pre-clinical development candidates suitable for future selection as drug candidates for clinical testing. Their areas of focus, GPCRs, are involved in a wide variety of body processes from vision to sexual development as well as many endocrinological and autoimmune disorders.

To underlie their importance, amongst the 100 top-selling drugs, 15 are ion-channel modulators that represent a total market value well in excess of $15 billion (€12.6 billion)

The extension, which effectively doubles the already sizeable programme, has now been extended to the end of 2008, having originally been projected to end in August 2007. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Under the terms of the agreement, Evotec, will receive ongoing research payments from Boehringer.

In addition, Boehringer will pay to Evotec pre-clinical and clinical milestones as well as royalties on drugs discovered in the collaboration.

The first project milestone was successfully announced in June 2005, less than one year after the start of this partnership.

"As a long-term strategic partner we are proud to have delivered valuable contributions to Boehringer's research in just a short period of time,"​ said Joern Aldag, president and CEO at Evotec.​

Ion channels are membrane proteins that enable rapid movement of ions into and out of cells. They are central to the properties of excitable cells, such as those of the nervous system and muscle.

Movement of ions through channels enables such cells to transmit signals through changes in voltage across their membranes. The dysfunction of ion channels is associated with a number of diseases, such as epilepsy and migraine