Almirall and Evotec team up in multi-target dermatology alliance

A new collaboration for a multi-target alliance in medical dermatology between Almirall and Evotec, a life sciences company, has been announced.

The multi-target research and development partnership will focus on severe, chronic skin diseases, including immune-mediated inflammatory conditions such as atopic dermatitis and non-melanoma skin cancer such as basal cell carcinoma.

As part of the collaboration, the companies will use Evotec’s data-driven EVOiR&D platform for integrated research and development of first-in-class treatments, combined with Almirall’s extensive background in medical dermatology.

Commenting on the collaboration with Evotec, Dr Karl Ziegelbauer, chief scientific officer of Almirall, said: “We are very excited about the strategic alliance with Evotec and believe that combining Almirall’s experience and know-how in Medical Dermatology with Evotec’s integrated drug discovery and preclinical development small molecule platform will enable us to deliver novel solutions for patients suffering from auto-immune skin diseases or common forms of skin cancer.”

Evotec will oversee drug discovery and pre-clinical development, while Almirall will lead the clinical development and marketing.

According to the terms of the deal, Evotec is set to receive an undisclosed upfront payment and research payments, along with milestone payments of up to €230m per programme. In addition to this, Evotec will receive royalties on net sales.

Dr Werner Lanthaler, CEO of Evotec, said: “We are very happy to enter this collaboration with Almirall, one of the leaders in the field of medical dermatology. The collaboration has the potential to deliver superior first-in-class therapeutic options for many patients suffering from severe skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis or basal cell carcinoma.

“We are looking forward to leveraging the complementary expertise of Evotec and Almirall in order to develop promising new drug candidates.”