Evotec has signed an agreement with AstraZeneca in kidney diseases. Initial focus of the alliance will be exploring compounds and targets with novel mechanisms that have disease-modifying potential for the treatment of chronic kidney disease.

AstraZeneca will receive access to a selected series of molecules identified in a screening effort, which is part of Evotec's systematic kidney disease initiative. This particular program has been designed to explore a key mechanism in chronic kidney disease. AstraZeneca will provide industrial scope and scale as well as pharmaceutical development experience and marketing capabilities.

The agreement between Evotec and AstraZeneca triggers an undisclosed upfront payment as well as preclinical, clinical and regulatory milestones. Evotec also is eligible for additional milestone and royalty payments related to commercialization. Evotec will receive research funding for work that will be conducted in collaboration with AstraZeneca. Financial details have not been disclosed.

Dr Marcus Schindler, head of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases iMed, AstraZeneca, said, "Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (CVMD) represents one of the three core areas for AstraZeneca. Within CVMD, we are committing significant efforts on R&D of potential new treatments for diabetic nephropathy, end-stage as well as chronic kidney disease. Our goal is to identify and develop effective therapies to halt or slow down the decline of renal function for patients suffering from kidney diseases. This new collaboration complements our research efforts in the renal disease space. Evotec has built a drug discovery platform in kidney diseases and is well-positioned to work with us to generate highly innovative drug candidates so that we can accelerate the delivery of new medicines to patients."