Evotec signs US$65m deal with Celgene

Under the terms of the agreement, Evotec will receive an upfront payment of US$65 m and is eligible to receive milestone payments as well as tiered royalties on each licensed programme. Celgene receives exclusive opt-in rights to license worldwide rights to all programmes developed within this collaboration.

It's not the first deal of the companies. In December 2016, Evotec and Celgene signed a 5-year contract under which Evotec uses its proprietary CELMoD^® library and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived  disease models to find new compounds in neurodegenerative diseases. Under the deal, Evotec received an upfront payment of US$45m in 2016 and an initial US$5m milestone for a successful screening campaign. Potential milestones amount up to US$250m plus double-digit royalties on product sales generated by licenced programmes in return for exclusive comercialisation rights.

Dr. Cord Dohrmann, Evotec's Chief Scientific Officer, said, "We are excited about the opportunity to enter into a second major alliance with our Celgene counterparts. Our first alliance in the field of neurodegenerative diseases has already shown that both companies and teams are committed to working together and pursuing the same goals to develop new and better therapies for patients. "