DAC selects Evotec as partner for collaboration on the HSP90 cancer target

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, July 18 - Evotec AG said Tuesday that DAC has chosen Evotec as a strategic partner to identify small molecule therapeutics in a pharmaceutical discovery project on the HSP90 target, a key protein involved in a variety of oncogenic pathways in several cancer related diseases.

Under the agreement, DAC said it will access compound intellectual property that Evotec has generated on this disease target through its internal research and development, according to a company news release.

The aim of the collaboration will be to take compounds identified by Evotec as being active against the target and further optimize them to the point of clinical development, officials said.

Using its proprietary fragment screening platform, Evotec said it identified novel fragments that interact with the HSP90 target from Evotec's 5,000-member fragment library.

Active fragments were further characterized by co-crystallization with the target protein.

The X-ray crystal structures of the protein-ligand complexes identified a variety of binding modes, some of which will give rise to novel approaches for inhibiting HSP90.

Following due diligence, DAC said it has decided to collaborate with Evotec with the aim of improving the potency and selectivity of the identified compounds.

In the collaboration, which may run for an initial period of more than two years, Evotec said it will use its medicinal chemistry, profiling and Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicity (ADMET) expertise to generate lead molecules for further progression into clinical trials.

For its contributions to the discovery project, Evotec said it will potentially receive single-digit millions research and development service revenues and also will be eligible for additional preclinical and clinical milestone payments.

DAC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Milan, Italy-based Genextra, a biotechnology holding company.

Evotec is a Hamburg, Germany, biopharmaceutical company.

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