DGAP-News: Evotec AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous
12.01.2017 / 07:30
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Vienna/Amsterdam/Hamburg, 12 January 2017:
Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) today
announced a promising research result in the field of picornaviruses
published in a scientific article by Dr Thijn Brummelkamp, the co-founder
of Haplogen GmbH ("Haplogen"), a biotech company based in Vienna, Austria,
that develops antiviral therapeutics in a co-owned partnership with Evotec.
The article, now available in the online edition of Nature
(http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature21032), describes the work performed at Dr
Brummelkamp's laboratory at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. The study
revealed the unexpected role of a bacterial clearance pathway in the
picornavirus life cycle and further demonstrated that a key enzyme used by
the virus to evade clearance (PLA2G16) represents a first-in-class drug
target for a broad range of picornaviruses. The picornavirus family leads
to more frequent human infections than any other virus family and causes
diseases such as the common cold and polio. Aided with a set of elegant
haploid genetic screening experiments, first author Jacqueline Staring and
co-workers unravelled a novel aspect of the molecular process responsible
for how picornaviruses infect their human host cells. Inhibition of
PLA2G16, a cellular and drugable enzyme, surrenders picornavirus particles
to a clearance mechanism normally associated with bacterial infections.
Animals in which the enzyme was inactivated were protected against
infection whilst otherwise being healthy and fertile.
"These findings suggest that PLA2G16 can be exploited as novel antiviral
target for diseases caused by picornaviruses. Furthermore, as such drugs
would target a host factor rather than a viral protein, there would be a
high barrier for the virus to develop drug resistance", explains Dr Thijn
Brummelkamp.
Haplogen holds the exclusive rights to use PLA2G16 against viral
infections. In a partnership with Evotec, announced in November 2012, it
has developed novel inhibitor compounds, which it anticipates to enter
pre-clinical development in the course of 2017.
"We are thrilled by the extraordinary scientific achievements of our
co-founder and his team", comments Dr Georg Casari, Chief Executive Officer
of Haplogen. "It is fascinating that our target PLA2G16 is linked to a new
step in the life cycle of these well-studied viruses and this further
validates our drug discovery programme."
Dr Werner Lanthaler, Chief Executive Officer of Evotec, added: "We are
delighted to work with Haplogen and apply our drug discovery expertise to
this exciting first-in-class target. We congratulate Dr Brummelkamp and his
team and look forward to continuing the relationship to develop a novel
drug candidate."
Reference: "PLA2G16 represents a switch between entry and clearance of
Picornaviridae", Jacqueline Staring, Eleonore von Castelmur, Vincent A
Blomen, Lisa G. van den Hengel, Markus Brockmann, Jim Baggen, Hendrik Jan
Thibaut, Joppe Nieuwenhuis, Hans Janssen, Frank van Kuppeveld, Anastassis
Perrakis, Jan E. Carette & Thijn R. Brummelkamp ; Nature (2017)
(http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature21032)
ABOUT HAPLOGEN GMBH
Haplogen GmbH is a privately held biotechnology company in Vienna, Austria,
with active programs designed to combat viral infectious diseases. For more
information on Haplogen visit: http://www.haplogen.com.
CONTACT:
Georg Casari, Ph.D
CEO
Haplogen GmbH
Telephone: + 43-1-9165522
casari@haplogen.com
ABOUT EVOTEC AG
Evotec is a drug discovery alliance and development partnership company
focused on rapidly progressing innovative product approaches with leading
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academics, patient advocacy
groups and venture capitalists. We operate worldwide providing the highest
quality stand-alone and integrated drug discovery solutions, covering all
activities from target-to-clinic to meet the industry's need for innovation
and efficiency in drug discovery (EVT Execute). The Company has established
a unique position by assembling top-class scientific experts and
integrating state-of-the-art technologies as well as substantial experience
and expertise in key therapeutic areas including neuroscience, diabetes and
complications of diabetes, pain and inflammation, oncology and infectious
diseases. On this basis, Evotec has built a broad and deep pipeline of more
than 70 partnered product opportunities at clinical, pre-clinical and
discovery stages (EVT Innovate). Evotec has established multiple long-term
discovery alliances with partners including Bayer, CHDI, Sanofi or UCB and
development partnerships with e.g. Janssen Pharmaceuticals in the field of
Alzheimer's disease, with Sanofi in the field of diabetes, with Pfizer in
the field of tissue fibrosis and with Celgene in the field of
neurodegenerative diseases. For additional information please go to
www.evotec.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Information set forth in this press release contains forward-looking
statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The
forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgement of
Evotec as of the date of this press release. Such forward-looking
statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a
variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control,
and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contemplated in these forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any
obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to
any such statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change
in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is
based.
Contact Evotec AG:
Gabriele Hansen, VP Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, Phone:
+49.(0)40.56081-255, gabriele.hansen@evotec.com
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12.01.2017 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
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Language: English
Company: Evotec AG
Manfred Eigen Campus / Essener Bogen 7
22419 Hamburg
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)40 560 81-0
Fax: +49 (0)40 560 81-222
E-mail: info@evotec.com
Internet: www.evotec.com
ISIN: DE0005664809
WKN: 566480
Indices: TecDAX
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated
Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover,
Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
End of News DGAP News Service