Evotec Adds Cell Therapy Manufacturing Facility with Acquisition of Rigenerand

CELLS PLATFORM INTEGRATES INNOVATIVE OFF-THE-SHELF IPSC CELL THERAPY DISCOVERY WITH DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURING

HAMBURG, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / May 30, 2022 / Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809; NASDAQ:EVO) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Evotec will acquire 100% of the capital of Rigenerand Srl, a leading cell technology company, for a purchase price of € 23 m. Founded in 2009 as a spin-off of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Rigenerand is a pioneering company in the field of cGMP manufacturing of cell therapies. The acquisition adds a great team of cell therapy cGMP manufacturing experts to Evotec.

Rigenerand is based in Medolla, Italy, approx. 100 km south of Evotec's Campus Levi-Montalcini in Verona. With their highly specialised team, Rigenerand operates a first-class certified facility that integrates state-of-the-art cGMP production with R&D and QC labs and development labs. The production facility, called "cell factory", comprises a series of fully equipped clean rooms for the manufacturing of complex cell-based therapies. In total, the site in Medolla close to Modena comprises 1,200 sqm of high-tech manufacturing space, with potential for significant further expansion.

The acquisition expands Evotec's cell therapy platform EVO cells by adding a dedicated, high-quality cGMP manufacturing site. The seamless integration of discovery and development of innovative cures combined with in-house capabilities in GMP manufacturing are mandatory within this field. While the revenue contribution will not be significant at the beginning, the manufacturing capability of Rigenerand along with the exceptional R&D power of Evotec will strengthen Evotec's ability to successfully win new integrated partnerships within the innovative field of cell therapy.

Dr Werner Lanthaler, Chief Executive Officer of Evotec, commented: "Cell therapies are an exciting emerging therapeutic modality with broad applicability across many indications. Originating from our leading iPSC platform, Evotec's EVO cells platform enables the delivery of innovative cell therapeutics from inception to the patient. The acquisition of Rigenerand adds manufacturing capacity and expertise to the EVO cells platform. Our conversations with our partners as well as our own industry observations have made it clear that horizontal expansion and rapid iteration at the scale-up are critical within the cell therapy space. As we see very strong demand for our standalone Just - Evotec Biologics J.POD ^® s in the US and EU, it is strategically the logical step to build separate capability and capacity internally. We warmly welcome the Rigenerand team into the Evotec family and are excited to leverage their skill and expertise for our partners and ultimately the patients."