Evotec SE has entered a target and drug discovery partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim, focusing on induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based disease modelling for ophthalmologic disorders. Millions of people are affected by vision-related diseases worldwide, and there is a high unmet need for novel therapeutic solutions.
 
Through phenotypic screening of human iPSC-derived cells, supported by Evotec’s PanOmics platform, Evotec will identify small molecules able to modulate disease phenotypes, and then validate the underlying promising targets for potential therapeutic interventions. Boehringer Ingelheim will then continue with the discovery and development of potential therapeutic candidates. Besides an undisclosed upfront and FTE-based research payment, Evotec will continue to benefit from the successful further development of the candidates in the form of milestones and layered royalties.
 
Dr. Cord Dohrmann, chief scientific officer of Evotec, commented, “We are excited to utilize our unique iPSC- and PanOmics-based approaches to ophthalmologic diseases in this new partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim. Phenotypic screening approaches have a long history of delivering highly effective drugs based on novel molecular mechanisms. Phenotypic screens based on human iPSC-derived disease models combined with our unbiased PanOmics readouts are more likely to deliver disease relevant drugs than any other cell-based screening approach.”