Evotec, Apeiron collaborate to discover new pain therapeutics

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Feb. 14 - Evotec AG and Apeiron Biologics GmbH said Tuesday that they have entered into a discovery collaboration to develop small molecules targeting a novel therapeutic concept for pain relief.

This concept is based on the research of Josef Penninger, director of the Institute for Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, according to a company news release.

During the initial phase of this collaboration, Apeiron and Evotec will jointly develop tailored biochemical and cellular assays and Evotec will apply its outstanding skills in using such assays for ultra-high-throughput screening to identify promising hit molecules, officials said.

At a later stage, both companies aim at advancing a selected lead compound into preclinical development up to proof-of-concept in patients. Commercialization rights, which are shared equally, may be out-licensed or assigned to a pharmaceutical partner, officials said.

"We are very pleased to enter into this innovative project with Apeiron Biologics. The top-level research provided by Apeiron and its scientific founder in this area, paired with Evotec's substantial track record in the rapid identification of drug candidates and its expertise in field of central nervous system disorders, is an excellent basis for successfully identifying novel pain therapeutics. This could become an attractive addition to our growing [central nervous system] pipeline," Erich Greiner, executive vice president of science at Evotec, said in the release.

Evotec is a Hamburg, Germany, biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new small molecule drugs to treat the central nervous system.

Apeiron is a biotechnology company based in Vienna, Austria, focused on development of biopharmaceutical products to treat diseases with a high degree of unmet medical needs.

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