Evotec begins new Oxford Uni digital health partnership

Germany’s Evotec has begun a new strategic partnership with the British AI tech company Sensyne Health and Oxford University to translate research into new companies working on digital health, clinical AI algorithms and data-driven drug discovery and development.

The collaboration also involves the university’s technology transfer arm Oxford Sciences Innovation (OUI), and Oxford Sciences Innovation, the world’s largest intellectual property investment company dedicated to a single university.

It will created a “bridge” called LAB10x, aimed at translating research into AI and digital health into new tech companies.

Digital health projects will be sourced exclusively from Oxford researchers via OUI and will be aided by an expert in residence seconded by Sensyne to the LAB10x initiative and embedded in the university.

The technologies developed by LAB10x will be applied to generate and analyse anonymised patient datasets to improve patient outcomes and accelerate medical research and pharmaceutical R&D.

LAB10x will be supported by a fund of around £5 million for an initial period of three years.

Evotec will provide access to its drug discovery expertise while Sensyne will exclusively contribute its clinical AI and digital health expertise.

This will include regulated software development, data analysis, and quality management systems to select projects and develop them to the point of commercial proof of concept.

Evotec and Sensyne will be entitled to equity in new LAB10x spin-out companies together with Oxford University and its academic researchers.

Both companies, together with OSI, will have the right to co-invest in seed financing rounds.

Where company creation is not the chosen commercial path, Sensyne will have the right to acquire a license to IP generated by the selected projects. Sensyne and Evotec are also exploring other opportunities for collaboration.

The arrangements build on an existing research tie-up between OUI and Evotec that begun in 2016.

Evotec forged a public-private partnership with OUI, called Lab282, based around drug candidates emerging from the university’s research.

Since then Evotec has formed and funded four other similar partnerships.