Evotec, Sanofi Partner, Promise Innovation

Evotec and Sanofi have entered a partnership, which they state is “a major multi-component strategic alliance.” The companies announced the collaboration in a press release, stating that they will bridge innovation from the laboratory to the market, focus on oncology, and innovate in pre-clinical discovery. Dr. Elias Zerhouni, President of Global R&D at Sanofi, said, "Open innovation is a key driver of Sanofi's strategy. We believe Evotec will be an ideal partner, a company that fits our quality expectations and our strategic vision. Our collaboration will secure the future for our employees in Toulouse and importantly accelerate our pipeline productivity.”

Evotec and Sanofi Agreement

Evotec, a contract research organization (CRO) and Sanofi intend to close the transaction early in 2015. Sanofi has pledged € 250 million ($310 million) to Evotec over the next five years, including an upfront cash payment. The agreement includes milestone payments for development and regulatory accomplishments and sales royalties.

Evotec will have access to Sanofi’s library of 1,000,000 compounds, which Evotec will screen against its clients’ targets, and if viable treatments are found, will share proceeds with Sanofi. In addition to the compound library sharing, which the companies call “a ground-breaking initiative within the industry,” the two companies have detailed two other projects of primary focus. Those are pipeline building in oncology and integration of Sanofi and Evotec personnel at Sanofi’s site in Toulouse, France, which Evotec would build into a center for collaboration with industry and academia worldwide.

Evotec Activities

Evotec has been busy this year, acquiring other companies to complement its services and possibly making it more attractive to Sanofi. In March, Evotec acquired Bionamics GmbH, based in Germany. The company is an asset management company that works to bring academic discoveries into industry clinical trials and through to commercialization. Bionamics brings its portfolio of funded projects in neurodegeneration and central nervous system (CNS).

In late May, Evotec acquired Euprotec, adding to its capabilities in the infectious disease therapeutic area. Euprotec is a U.K.-based CRO with anti-infective drug discovery services in pre-clinical investigations and clinical proof-of-concept studies. The addition complements Evotec's anti-infective screening, early pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PKPD) profiling, and characterization capabilities. Dr. Lanthaler of Evotec stated that the acquisition provides a “complete infrastructure” in the field of infectious diseases.” Judging from this newest deal, it would seem that Sanofi agrees that Evotec has a complete infrastructure.