Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, TecDAX) announced the extension of its collaboration with CHDI Foundation, Inc. (CHDI) through to the end of 2012. The collaboration, which is aimed at finding new treatments for Huntington's disease and represents one of the largest joint innovation drug discovery CNS alliances within Evotec, will provide Evotec with up to US$ 37.5 million in research funding over the next three years. Evotec has been providing research and innovation support to CHDI since 2006.

"As a proven leader in the field of drug discovery, Evotec continues to be an important strategic partner in our search for effective treatments for Huntington's disease. Their integrated drug discovery capabilities are helping us advance numerous drug candidates towards the clinic and we look forward to continuing to work with Evotec over the coming years" said Dr Robert Pacifici, Chief Scientific Officer of CHDI.

The extension of this collaboration is a further validation of Evotec's broad expertise in CNS drug discovery and development. Evotec will provide a full range of neurological research activities and expertise to CHDI, including integrated biology and chemistry supported by compound and library management, target validation, screening, computational chemistry, in vitro and in vivo PK and protein crystallography. Evotec has made a significant investment to put together an integrated platform to provide drug discovery solutions, especially within the area of neuroscience.

Dr Werner Lanthaler, Chief Executive Officer of Evotec, commented: "We are delighted that CHDI has chosen to further extend our strategic alliance. We view this as an important step in our work with CHDI to develop novel therapies for Huntington's disease and meet this urgent medical need. At the same time it will allow Evotec to gain further experience in defining the underlying mechanisms of other neurodegenerative diseases."

About Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease is a familial disease caused by a mutation in the huntingtin gene. Each child of a parent with the mutation in the huntingtin gene has a 50-50 chance of inheriting the mutation. As a result of carrying the mutation, an individual's brain cells fail and die leading to cognitive and physical impairments that, over the course of the disease, significantly impair the individual's quality of life and ultimately cause death. Symptoms of Huntington's disease, which generally develop in midlife and become progressively more debilitating as time passes, can also develop in infancy or old age. Once overt symptoms start, patients live for about 15 to 20 years. One person in 10,000 is believed to carry a mutation in the huntingtin gene. There is currently no way to delay the onset of symptoms or slow the progression of Huntington's disease.

About Evotec AG

Evotec is a leader in the discovery and development of novel small molecule drugs. The Company has built substantial drug discovery expertise and an industrialized platform that can drive new innovative small molecule compounds into the clinic. In addition, Evotec has built a deep internal knowledge base in the treatment of diseases related to neuroscience, pain, and inflammation. Leveraging these skills and expertise the Company intends to develop best-in-class differentiated therapeutics and deliver superior science-driven discovery alliances with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Evotec has long-term discovery alliances with partners including Boehringer Ingelheim, CHDI, Novartis, Ono Pharmaceutical and Roche. Evotec has product candidates in clinical development and a series of preclinical compounds and development partnerships, including for example a strategic alliance with Roche for the EVT 100 compound family, subtype selective NMDA receptor antagonists for use in treatment-resistant depression. For additional information please go to http://www.evotec.com.

Source
CHDI Foundation, Inc.