MilliporeSigma has entered several agreements with Evotec AG, under which Evotec will provide screening services for Merck’s genetic reagents such as CRISPR and shRNA libraries. Combining access to these libraries with Evotec’s screening expertise aims to offer an accelerated pathway to explore and identify new drug targets.
   
The collaboration allows customers to select a customized set of CRISPR and shRNA libraries, and then leverage Evotec’s phenotypic screening within primary and induced pluripotent stem cells and in vivo disease models. The target identification workflow then uses custom-engineered cell lines developed by MilliporeSigma’s Cell Design Studio. These cell lines are used by Evotec to customize screening assays and deliver information more efficiently.

“Drug discovery starts with the identification of new targets, a process that can be time- and labor-intensive,” said Theresa Creasey, head of Applied Solutions Strategic Marketing & Innovation, MilliporeSigma. “Our collaboration with Evotec accelerates the discovery workflow, enabling customers to more rapidly and efficiently explore disease pathways and find new targets.”

“This agreement with MilliporeSigma further strengthens our offering in the area of target identification and validation,” said Mario Polywka, Ph.D., chief operating officer of Evotec. “Deploying MilliporeSigma’s assay-ready reagents on our cellular screening platforms and in vivo models creates powerful capabilities and more value to our customers as a comprehensive solution.”
 
MilliporeSigma partners with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute for its arrayed CRISPR library covering the entire human genome.