Evotec, InterMune Expand Research Pact

InterMune, Inc. has signed its second drug discovery contract with Evotec AG under which Evotec will support InterMune’s research efforts with its medicinal chemistry expertise. Evotec will use its technologies in computational chemistry, protein production, X-Ray crystallography and ADMET to further characterize active compounds and optimize their potency and selectivity to generate lead molecules for advancement into clinical trials.
   
This contract expands the existing collaboration between the two companies and applies Evotec’s fragment-based drug discovery platform, EVOlution, in combination with its ultra-high-throughput screening (uHTS) technologies to InterMune’s targets. So far, new lead series have been identified for further optimization. The financial terms include a technology access fee for Evotec’s EVOlution discovery platform, as well as ongoing research funding.
   
“With the support of Evotec, InterMune has made considerable progress in their Hepatitis C drug discovery and development program. We are pleased that InterMune saw the value in our proprietary fragment-based drug discovery technology and that it has contributed to the success to their research efforts,” said Dr. Mark Ashton, executive vice president business development services at Evotec.