Pfizer Teams up with Evotec on Drug Discovery

On July 10, 2024, Evotec announced that it has formed a multi-year master research collaboration and option and license agreement with Pfizer. The partners will initially focus on early discovery research for potential therapeutics to treat metabolic and infectious diseases.

Under the agreement, the research will be carried out at Evotec’s sites in France, including its Campus Curie in Toulouse. The Toulouse site houses high throughput screening capabilities, in-vitro and in-vivo biology, proteomics, and metabolomics. Pfizer will provide Evotec with research support funding, and Evotec will be eligible to receive potential milestones and royalties related to success of the research programs, according to a company press release.

“We are honored to collaborate with Pfizer to research potential new first-in-class therapeutic approaches. France has established a thriving biopharmaceutical ecosystem to which Evotec also contributes with its strong presence with more than 1000 employees at our French sites, building a strong pipeline of medicines that matter. Focusing on diseases with severe unmet medical need and highly innovative therapeutic approaches, we look forward to supporting our partners at Pfizer with integrated R&D activities,” said Matthias Evers, PhD, chief business officer, Evotec, in the press release.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Evotec to conduct discovery research that may help unlock new approaches to treating pervasive metabolic and infectious diseases that impact millions of patients worldwide. France has developed a strong biopharmaceutical ecosystem, which is why we’re thrilled to collaborate with Evotec to build on our shared commitment to advancing scientific discovery for diseases with unmet need,” said Luca Mollo, MD, vice-president and medical lead France, Pfizer, in the press release.

In September 2023 Pfizer also signed a drug discovery deal with Ginkgo Bioworks (1), under which the companies will advance the discovery and development of novel RNA molecules using Ginkgo's proprietary RNA technology. Ginkgo received an upfront payment and is eligible to receive research fees and development and commercial milestone payments for an aggregate total of $331 million. Ginkgo's RNA technology combines high-throughput screening with a multi-parameter design framework to evaluate the behavior of RNA constructs. This technology allows the company to identify optimal novel elements, both natural and synthetic, that can be applied to a particular application.

"Billions of patients around the world have already benefited from advances in RNA-based technologies. We're thrilled to be able to help enable the discovery and development of novel drugs using this powerful modality by applying our platform technologies, which are designed to program RNA for maximum therapeutic effect," said Jason Kelly, CEO and co-founder, Ginkgo Bioworks, in a company press release.

Pfizer’s clinical pipeline as of May 1, 2024 includes 45 projects in Phase I, 28 projects in Phase II, and 37 projects in Phase III. The company also has three products filed for regulatory review: two pediatric COVID-19 vaccines (filed in the United States with BioNTech) for children six months to four years of age and for children five to 11 years of age, respectively, and a biologic for treating hemophilia filed in the US and in the European Union (2).

References

1. Gingko Bioworks. Ginkgo Bioworks Announces Multi-Target RNA Discovery Collaboration with Pfizer. Press Release, Sept. 27, 2023.
2. Pfizer. Drug Development Pipeline. pfizer.com (accessed July 11, 2024).

Source: Evotec