Evotec and BI in Alzheimer's discovery collaboration

German companies Evotec AG and Boehringer Ingelheim have entered into a multi-year accord to jointly identify novel targets as potential points of intervention in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The collaboration will also involve the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna, Austria.

Evotec scientists together with the IMP will apply their proprietary and well validated disease models to identify novel AD targets. Based on these models, BI will select and further validate target candidates for its in-house drug discovery program with the goal of developing innovative novel therapeutics. Financial details of this collaboration are not disclosed.

The contract also includes an option for Evotec to support BI in the target validation process. If the drug major exercises this option, Evotec is eligible for milestone payments of up to 20.0 million euros ($26.4 million) plus royalties.