EVOTEC AND CHINOOK THERAPEUTICS ENTER INTO STRATEGIC COLLABORATION TO DISCOVER AND DEVELOP NOVEL PRECISION MEDICINES FOR CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASES
- COLLABORATION WILL LEVERAGE THE NURTURE PATIENT BIOBANK AND EVOTEC’S MULTI-OMICS PLATFORMS PANHUNTER AND PANOMICS
- EVOTEC AND CHINOOK AIM TO CHARACTERISE MOLECULAR DRIVERS, IDENTIFY AND VALIDATE NOVEL TARGETS AND DRIVE PATIENT STRATIFICATION STRATEGIES IN SELECTED RARE KIDNEY DISEASES
- EVOTEC RECEIVES AN UNDISCLOSED UPFRONT AS WELL AS RESEARCH FUNDING AND IS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE MILESTONES AND ROYALTIES
Hamburg, Germany:
Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) and Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. (“Chinook”, NASDAQ: KDNY) today announced a strategic collaboration focused on the discovery and development of novel precision medicine therapies for patients with chronic kidney diseases (“CKD”). Based on Evotec’s proprietary comprehensive molecular datasets from thousands of patients across chronic kidney diseases of multiple underlying etiologies, Chinook and Evotec will jointly identify, characterize and validate novel mechanisms and discover and develop precision medicines.
The collaboration leverages Evotec’s proprietary PanOmics platform, which combines enhanced throughput proteomics, high throughput transcriptomic, and cell imaging with PanHunter, Evotec’s unique integrated data analysis platform. In addition, Chinook will contribute drug discovery and development programs to the collaboration targeting rare kidney diseases such as IgA nephropathy and glomerular diseases.
“We are excited to embark on this strategic collaboration with Evotec, the leading drug discovery alliance and development partner in nephrology,” said Andrew King, Ph.D., Head of Renal Discovery and Translational Medicine at Chinook. “Gaining access to the NURTuRE cohort study and other proprietary patient biobanks, along with Evotec’s multi-omics integration platform, will enable us to define the molecular drivers of kidney diseases, identify novel targets for drug development in selected patient sub-populations and continue to build the foundation for our precision medicine approach. With a focus on comprehensive molecular disease classification, combined with prospective clinical outcomes, Chinook has the opportunity to potentially deliver targeted therapies to the right patient populations.”
Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, commented: “We are glad to enter into a discovery and development partnership with Chinook Therapeutics, a company specializing in overcoming kidney diseases. CKD is the collective term for a variety of diseases that cause a gradual loss of kidney function. The diversity in the underlying causes makes this area especially favorable for data-driven and systematically personalized approaches. By leveraging our complementary platforms, Evotec and Chinook have the best possible starting position to tackle in particular rare forms of CKD with the goal to develop disease-modifying therapeutics for underserved patient populations.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Chinook and Evotec will share drug discovery and pre-clinical development responsibilities. Chinook will be responsible for clinical development and commercialization of product candidates developed under the collaboration. Evotec will receive an undisclosed upfront payment, research funding, and will be eligible to receive progress-dependent milestone payments and tiered royalties on net sales for targets identified through the collaboration.
ABOUT CHINOOK THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing precision medicines for kidney diseases. Chinook’s product candidates are being investigated in rare, severe chronic kidney disorders with opportunities for well-defined clinical pathways. Chinook’s lead program is atrasentan, an investigational phase 3 endothelin receptor antagonist for the treatment of IgA nephropathy and other primary glomerular diseases. BION-1301, an investigational anti-APRIL monoclonal antibody is being evaluated in a phase 1b trial for IgA nephropathy. In addition, Chinook is advancing CHK-336, an investigational oral small molecule LDHA inhibitor for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria, as well as research programs for other rare, severe chronic kidney diseases, including polycystic kidney disease. Chinook is building its pipeline by leveraging insights in kidney single-cell RNA sequencing, human-derived organoids and new translational models, to discover and develop therapeutics with differentiating mechanisms of action against key kidney disease pathways. To learn more, visit www.chinooktx.com.
ABOUT EVOTEC SE
Evotec is a drug discovery alliance and development partnership company focused on rapidly progressing innovative product approaches with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academics, patient advocacy groups and venture capitalists. We operate worldwide and our more than 3,500 employees provide the highest quality stand-alone and integrated drug discovery and development solutions. We cover all activities from target-to-clinic to meet the industry’s need for innovation and efficiency in drug discovery and development (EVT Execute). The Company has established a unique position by assembling top-class scientific experts and integrating state-of-the-art technologies as well as substantial experience and expertise in key therapeutic areas including neuronal diseases, diabetes and complications of diabetes, pain and inflammation, oncology, infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, fibrosis, rare diseases and women’s health. On this basis, Evotec has built a broad and deep pipeline of more than 100 co-owned product opportunities at clinical, pre-clinical and discovery stages (EVT Innovate). Evotec has established multiple long-term alliances with partners including Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, CHDI, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Sanofi, Takeda, UCB and others. For additional information please go to www.evotec.com and follow us on Twitter @Evotec
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