Evotec SE, Samsara BioCapital, and KCK Ltd., have launched Autobahn Labs, a novel virtual incubator partnering with top academic and research institutions to catalyze early-stage drug discovery and development. Autobahn Labs has already unveiled a strategic collaboration with UCLA Technology Development Group to identify and advance promising areas of scientific research with potential for patient therapies.
 
“Autobahn Labs was created to be a catalyst for translational research, working with academic scientists and institutions to design and execute an accelerated path to deliver transformational new therapies,” said Thomas Novak, PhD, chief scientific officer of Autobahn Labs. “We are very excited to partner with UCLA, a university with a premier reputation for innovation in the life sciences, to realise the potential of that innovation for patients.”
 
Built on a model of long-term partnership and collaboration, Autobahn Labs invests earlier than traditional venture capital, providing intellectual, financial and physical capital to advance new scientific discoveries from novel concept to pre-clinical drug candidate. Working in partnership with scientists and university tech transfer offices, the incubator identifies and de-risks early-stage research projects with significant therapeutic potential. Autobahn Labs creates jointly-owned new companies and invests up to $5 million per project. This model provides Principal Investigators with scientific and operational strategy as well as access to Evotec’s drug discovery and development technologies and capabilities.
 
“Autobahn Labs is a one-of-a-kind incubator that builds on the well-established foundation of our model of academic partnership programs, to support multiple academic institutions,” said Dr. Werner Lanthaler, CEO of Evotec. “Providing both funding and access to a powerful drug development platform, Autobahn Labs will be able to efficiently translate the ground-breaking research of leading academic institutions into medical progress to benefit patients with unmet medical need. We are very glad about our first partnership with the internationally renowned UCLA.”
 
“Many of the most important advances in medicine were born in university labs,” said Srinivas Akkaraju, MD, PhD, Managing General Partner, Samsara BioCapital. “While government funding and grants support basic research, there are limited resources available for translational research, particularly in the early stages. Autobahn Labs is investing early with a long-term perspective and a strong commitment to each program’s success.”