Evotec Nominates Preclinical Development Candidate in Collaboration with Almirall

Evotec SE has nominated a small-molecule preclinical development candidate from its drug-discovery alliance with Spain’s Almirall SA aimed at immune-mediated inflammatory skin diseases.

The companies are working on multi-target treatments in medical dermatology, an area where newer oral therapies are being pursued alongside established biologic drugs for conditions such as atopic dermatitis and other inflammatory disorders.

Evotec said the joint team moved from early leads to the candidate nomination in about two years, a step that typically precedes toxicology studies and other work required to support an application to begin human testing.

Under the collaboration, Evotec is providing discovery and preclinical development work, including medicinal chemistry, pharmacokinetics and laboratory testing, while Almirall is responsible for advancing dermatology programs toward the clinic and commercialization.

Evotec used AI and machine-learning tools alongside its integrated discovery and development platforms to support the program’s progression to a nominated preclinical candidate.

Dr. Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, said: “This program’s speed and quality demonstrate the ability of our integrated, AI/ML‑enabled discovery and preclinical development platforms to produce high-value candidates for clinical evaluation. Reaching a preclinical development candidate in such a short time validates our approach to data‑driven, end‑to‑end drug discovery and exemplifies what can be achieved when scientific excellence is paired with a highly collaborative partnership such as our work with the dermatology expert Almirall. We are proud of the work accomplished by our teams and look forward to progressing this promising program toward the clinic.”

Evotec said it will continue supporting IND-enabling studies through its INDiGO platform as the partners work toward a potential investigational new drug application. Financial terms and the drug target were not disclosed.