Evotec SE has entered a strategic, multi-year drug discovery collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to establish at least five drug discovery programs with the goal of Evotec delivering clinical candidates for Takeda to pursue into clinical development.

“Collaborating with world-class drug discovery partners like Evotec is central to our model for discovering and developing transformative medicines,” said Steve Hitchcock, Ph.D., Global Head of Research at Takeda. “Takeda has a long history of working with Evotec and is confident in Evotec’s capabilities.”

The collaboration combines Evotec’s integrated drug discovery programs with Takeda’s strategic insights into therapeutic approaches in Takeda’s four core therapeutic areas: Oncology, Gastroenterology, Neuroscience and Rare Diseases, as well as Takeda’s development and commercialization expertise. Evotec will leverage its discovery platform to validate therapeutic hypotheses and advance small molecule programs with Takeda having options to assume responsibility at lead series and upon Evotec delivering a preclinical candidate.

Under the terms of the collaboration, Takeda will pay Evotec a one-time, upfront fee to access its platforms. Evotec is also eligible to receive milestones that can total as much as $170 million per program, as well as royalties on future sales.

Dr. Craig Johnstone, chief operating officer of Evotec, added, “We are pleased to enter into another collaboration with Takeda, whose values are aligned with Evotec’s, including a shared commitment to translating highest quality science into highly innovative medicines. We believe this collaboration will be very fruitful for both parties and we are excited to combine our resources and skills to produce novel therapies.”