New kidney disease collaboration for AZ, Evotec

AstraZeneca and Evotec have signed an agreement in the field of kidney diseases, with the initial focus being on exploring new treatments for chronic kidney disease.

Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will receive access to a selected series of molecules identified in a screening effort, which is part of Evotec's systematic kidney disease initiative. This particular programme has been designed to explore a key mechanism in the field of chronic kidney disease. AstraZeneca will provide industrial scope and scale as well as pharmaceutical development expertise and marketing capabilities.

"'Exploring novel mechanisms and novel targets in the field of kidney disease is a logical next step for Evotec. We are very excited about AstraZeneca joining one of our programmes. AstraZeneca is a great partner sharing not only our vision but making valuable contributions beyond in an integrated discovery and development process."

Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec.

"Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (CVMD) represents one of the three core areas for AstraZeneca. Within CVMD, we are committing significant efforts on research and development of potential new treatments for diabetic nephropathy, end-stage as well as chronic kidney disease. Our goal is to identify and develop effective therapies to halt or slow down the decline of renal function for patients suffering from kidney diseases. This new collaboration complements our research efforts in the renal disease space. Evotec has built a leading drug discovery platform in the field of kidney diseases and is well-positioned to work with us to generate highly innovative drug candidates so that we can accelerate the delivery of new medicines to patients."

Dr Marcus Schindler, Head of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases iMed, AstraZeneca.

While the upfront payment has not been disclosed, Evotec is eligible to pre-clinical, clinical and regulatory milestones, as well as additional milestones relating to commercialization.