DGAP-News

Evotec and Ellersbrook join forces to accelerate TargetNASH

DGAP-News: Evotec AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous
Evotec and Ellersbrook join forces to accelerate TargetNASH

29.06.2016 / 07:29
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hamburg, Germany, 29 June 2016:
Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809)
announced today that the investment company Ellersbrook GmbH & Co. KG,
("Ellersbrook"), Germany, will invest into Evotec's internal TargetNASH
programme. Ellersbrook is a life science focused investment firm owned by
Dr Herbert Stadler, a renowned biotech entrepreneur.

This agreement marks a logical extension of Evotec's EVT Innovate business
segment which is based on proprietary drug discovery programmes in
first-in-class approaches which are designed to form the basis of strategic
Pharma partnerships or spin-out companies. Ellersbrook and Evotec jointly
commit more than EUR 5 m in funding for an initial period of up to three
years. In this joint investment, Evotec is contributing a well-defined Cure
X/Target X programme (TargetNASH) and designs and executes the business
plan in cooperation with Ellersbrook. The goal is to accelerate TargetNASH
projects during an incubator period to tangible value points which will
form the basis of either an independently financed spin-off company or a
strategic Pharma partnership.

TargetNASH is a highly systematic approach to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
(NASH) identifying novel mechanisms and targets with the potential to lead
to disease-modifying therapies. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the
most common chronic liver disease in the world affecting up to 30% of the
adult population and represents the major cause for NASH. There is
currently no approved pharmacological therapy on the market. TargetNASH
pursues a portfolio of highly innovative targets with the goal to target
different stages of the disease.

Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, commented: "We are
proud to count one of Europe's most successful biotech entrepreneurs as one
of our partners. We are pursuing a new model where venture capital can
invest into virtual biotech companies at a pre-seed stage. The model is
probably the most capital-efficient way to progress early-stage projects to
significant value inflection points with the flexibility to subsequently
enter into strategic Pharma partnership or create independently financed
spin-off companies."

Dr Herbert Stadler, owner of Ellersbrook GmbH & Co. KG, added: "Evotec is
the gold standard in pre-clinical stage drug discovery and provides very
exciting options for investments on a highly capital-efficient basis. I am