DGAP-News

Evotec launches 'PRROTECT', a pre-competitive initiative to be better prepared for future pandemics

DGAP-News: Evotec SE / Key word(s): Miscellaneous Evotec launches 'PRROTECT', a pre-competitive initiative to be better prepared for future pandemics 15.06.2021 / 07:30 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. INTEGRATED PLATFORM APPROACH TO RESPOND TO THE CHALLENGES OF PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS, RAPID RESPONSE AND DELIVERABILITY PRROTECT COMBINES FIRST-IN-CLASS PROGRAMMES ACROSS THERAPEUTIC MODALITIES, ACCELERATED R&D TIMELINES FOR HIGHLY EFFECTIVE NEUTRALISING ANTIBODIES WITH AI/ML PREDICTION TOOLS (J.HAL℠) AND MANUFACTURING PLATFORM (J.POD(R)) Hamburg, Germany, 15 June 2021: Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) announced today that the Company has launched an initiative for pandemic preparedness ("PRROTECT"). PRROTECT leverages a comprehensive set of novel projects and technologies to be better prepared for and respond faster to viral pandemics of the future. Virus outbreaks that can develop into dynamic pandemics are a permanent global threat. Besides preventive measures and vaccines, highly effective therapeutics are the backbone of any pandemic response. Evotec's PRROTECT initiative includes the development and delivery of superior novel therapeutics to curb the next viral pandemic. Based on the Company's distinctive set of global capabilities, Evotec is uniquely positioned to develop next-generation therapeutics across all modalities including small molecules, protein degraders, antibodies and immuno-modulators, but excluding vaccines. PRROTECT will be an open pre-competitive network initiative designed to offer the best protection against future pandemics by including three lines of preparation: Preparedness against viral threats, i.e. the pre-development of a multimodality pipeline of therapeutic candidates against the most threatening viruses as defined by the World Health Organisation ("WHO") Rapid response technologies to accelerate de novo R&D timelines of highly effective neutralising antibodies using AI & ML platforms (e.g. J.HAL℠) Flexible manufacturing network with highly intensified production facilities (J.POD(R)) to provide therapeutic antibodies quickly wherever needed   Dr Werner Lanthaler, Chief Executive Officer of Evotec SE, commented: "COVID-19 has taught us that any pandemic response is incomplete without effective therapeutics. Preparing for the next pandemic rather than reacting to an outbreak can accelerate the response time until effective therapeutics are available dramatically. We want to see the launch of PRROTECT as an open invitation to all interested network partners globally to join forces now, so that no generation has to experience the level of unpreparedness that we all suffered from in the last 2 years ever again."