Evotec and Celmatix enter strategic partnership

Under the terms of the strategic R&D collaboration, Celmatix Inc. (New York) will utilise its proprietary multi-omics Reproductive Atlas platform to provide targets for medically underserved conditions affecting womens’ reproductive health. Evotec SE (Hamburg) will provide its medicinal chemistry, in vitro and in vivo pharmacology capabilities to screen for first-in-class leads. The companies want to develop several preclinical programmes for conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, and infertility.

Currently, there are no causative treatments for polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis, which  represent drug markets of estimated US$3.3bn and US$2bn respectively. Affecting 10% of women, PCOS is a leading cause of infertility and puts women at increased risk for diabetes, among other life-threatening conditions. The current standard of care and treatment protocol for PCOS involves the use of estrogen modulators or antagonists, hormonal contraceptives, and use of diabetes drug metformin, to help manage symptoms. For endometriosis, a condition that causes debilitating pain and often leads to infertility, the current treatment paradigm includes surgery, hormonal medications and treatment of infertility.

“Reproductive health conditions collectively impact over 30% of women around the world and set the stage for later conditions such as cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. Endometriosis alone is estimated to cost the US economy over US$78 billion annually, and available medical interventions have only limited utility. It’s time to move beyond the incremental improvements we have seen in the standard of care for these conditions and bring true innovation to the field,” said Piraye Yurttas Beim, CEO and founder of Celmatix.

No financial terms of this collaboration were disclosed.