- GRANT FROM THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION SUPPORTS EVOTEC'S EFFORTS TO DISCOVER AND DEVELOP DRUG CANDIDATES FOR A UNIVERSAL, SHORTER, SAFER AND SIMPLER TUBERCULOSIS DRUG REGIMEN AS ONE OF ITS PROGRAMMES CONTRIBUTING TO THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 3
- "WORLD TUBERCULOSIS DAY", 24 MARCH RAISES PUBLIC AWARENESS ABOUT DEVASTATING HEALTH, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE TUBERCULOSIS EPIDEMIC
HAMBURG, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / March 24, 2023 / Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange:EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN:DE0005664809; NASDAQ:EVO) announced today that the Company has received a US$ 6.6 m grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for drug discovery in tuberculosis ("TB"). The grant is the second award from the foundation to Evotec supporting TB drug discovery, and allows the Company to progress a portfolio of TB drug discovery projects that have the potential to contribute to a universal, shorter, safer and simpler TB drug regimen.
The current regimen for drug-sensitive TB, the most common and easiest-to-treat form of TB, requires that patients take multiple drugs for six or more months under clinical monitoring. Patients with drug-resistant TB face longer and more complex treatment regimens, often with significant side effects. A shorter drug regimen that can treat TB irrespective of pre-existing drug resistance could provide a significant benefit to both patients and health systems.
Dr Werner Lanthaler, Chief Executive Officer of Evotec, commented: "We are honoured to have been awarded another grant by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The rise of drug-resistant TB and the complex and time-consuming way of treating patients highlight the urgent need for next-generation treatment options for all forms of TB. The grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation allows us to continue and expand our commitment to global health, to make a meaningful contribution to achieve targets set under the United Nation Sustainable Development Goal ("SDG") No 3 and to enable simpler, safer and faster treatment for patients worldwide."
24 March marks the day that Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB in 1882, opening the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease. Each year, this date is commemorated as World TB Day to raise awareness that TB is still a major global cause of illness, disability and catastrophic household costs. It is the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide and responsible for an estimated 1.6 million deaths per year.
About Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is an airborne infectious disease most commonly caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria. It usually affects the lungs but can spread to other parts of the body as well. Tuberculosis is among the leading causes of death by infectious disease and is the 13 th deadliest disease worldwide. In 2021, 10.6 million people contracted TB, and 1.6 million died from the disease. TB is also a leading cause of death for people living with HIV, with about 187,000 of such patients dying in 2021. Multidrug-resistant TB remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. The World Health Organization estimates that in 2021 there were 450,000 new cases with resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid, the two most effective first-line TB drugs. As a result of years of inadequate diagnosis and treatment, these types of drug-resistant TB are more difficult and costly to treat, highlighting the urgent need for new, better, faster-acting treatments.
Evotec maintains a significant presence in TB drug discovery and translational science and is a member of several global collaborations of philanthropic, non-profit, and private sector organisations, e.g. the TB Drug Accelerator Programme (TBDA), the ERA4TB (European Accelerator of Tuberculosis Regimens) and the Project to Accelerate New Treatments for Tuberculosis (PAN-TB collaboration). These collaborations work together to accelerate the discovery and development of novel TB drugs and regimens that will provide superior treatment options for all TB patients.
In 2019, Evotec received a previous US$ 23.8 m grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to discover new treatment regimens that better address TB. The main objective of the five-year partnership is to generate standardised, high-quality pre-clinical data to support novel regimen selection and development.
ABOUT EVOTEC SE
Evotec is a life science company with a unique business model that delivers on its mission to discover and develop highly effective therapeutics and make them available to the patients. The Company's multimodality platform comprises a unique combination of innovative technologies, data and science for the discovery, development, and production of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products. Evotec leverages this "Data-driven R&D Autobahn to Cures" for proprietary projects and within a network of partners including all Top 20 Pharma and over 800 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, as well as other healthcare stakeholders. Evotec has strategic activities in a broad range of currently underserved therapeutic areas, including e.g. neurology, oncology, as well as metabolic and infectious diseases. Within these areas of expertise, Evotec aims to create the world-leading co-owned pipeline for innovative therapeutics and has to-date established a portfolio of more than 200 proprietary and co-owned R&D projects from early discovery to clinical development. Evotec operates globally with more than 4,500 highly qualified people. The Company's 17 sites offer highly synergistic technologies and services and operate as complementary clusters of excellence. For additional information please go to www.evotec.com and follow us on Twitter @Evotec and LinkedIn .
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This announcement contains forward-looking statements concerning future events, including the proposed offering and listing of Evotec's securities. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "should," "target," "would" and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements include comments regarding Evotec's expectations for revenues, Group EBITDA and unpartnered R&D expenses. These forward-looking statements are based on the information available to, and the expectations and assumptions deemed reasonable by Evotec at the time these statements were made. No assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates, which are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of Evotec. Evotec expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Evotec's expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.
Media Contact Evotec SE:
Gabriele Hansen, SVP Head of Global Corporate Communications, Phone: +49.(0)40.56081-255, [email protected]
Hinnerk Rohwedder, Director of Global Corporate Communications, Tel.: +49.(0)151 4070-4843, [email protected]
IR Contact Evotec SE:
Volker Braun, SVP Head of Global Investor Relations & ESG, Phone: +49.(0)40.56081-775, [email protected]
SOURCE: Evotec SE