Evotec extends research agreement with Cubist Pharmaceuticals

5 March 2010

Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, TecDAX) has extended its research agreement with Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) to the end of 2010. Under the contract extension, Evotec will provide additional fragment-based drug discovery expertise using its proprietary platform, EVOlution, which includes fragment screening, structural biology and protein crystallography, to discover and profile novel compounds against additional antibacterial targets selected by Cubist.

Evotec and Cubist have collaborated since July 2009, successfully progressing drug discovery programmes. Over the course of 2010, Evotec will continue and expand its support of Cubist’s discovery activities. A key benefit of Evotec’s fragment-based drug discovery platform is its versatility, combining biochemical and biophysical techniques including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and x-ray crystallography, thus allowing the design of target-specific strategies.

Dr Mark Ashton, Executive Vice President, Business Development of Evotec commented: “This is further validation of our expertise and capabilities in fragment-based drug discovery. We enjoy the close and productive relationship we have with Cubist’s scientists and look forward to carry on adding significant value to their portfolio of antibacterial programmes.”