Evotec to receive $10m as kidney cancer trial launches 

Evotec will receive a $10 million milestone payment as a kidney cancer trial has got underway. 

Bristol Myers Squibb has launched its Phase I clinical study evaluating CELMoD agent BMS-986506, a cereblon E3 ligase modulator, in clear cell renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer.  

The first-in-human study brings into the clinic a novel CELMoD or ‘molecular glue’ candidate, jointly generated through Evotec’s powerful and fully integrated drug discovery platform.  

Evotec’s platform combines high-performance multi-omics screening with AI-enabled data analytics and drug design capabilities, selectively prompting cancer cells to eliminate disease driving proteins. 

As part of a strategic agreement struck in 2018 between Evotec and Celgene, now Bristol Myers Squibb, Evotec will receive a milestone payment worth $10 million. 

“Together with Bristol Myers Squibb, and building on Evotec’s PanOmics and PanHunter platforms, we have identified a broad portfolio of high-potential molecular glue drug candidates that are now beginning to enter clinical development,” said Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec. 

“The initiation of this Phase I clinical trial marks the first clinical milestone in the strategic protein degradation partnership with BMS. Molecular glues have the potential to address significant unmet medical need not only in oncology, but far beyond, by targeting previously undruggable, disease-causing proteins and thereby aiming to reshape future standards of care.” 

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