CLARIS’S PORTFOLIO COMPANIES RECEIVE EASY ACCESS TO EVOTEC’S FULL RANGE OF PRE-CLINICAL AND CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURING CAPABILITIES
Hamburg, Germany, and Turin, Italy, 06 March 2024:
Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809; NASDAQ: EVO) and biotech venture capital firm Claris Ventures (“Claris”) today announced an acceleration framework to streamline programmes from Claris’s portfolio companies into the clinic through Evotec’s fully integrated platform.
Claris’s portfolio is focused on biotech companies with programmes approaching clinical trials and currently consists of nine biotech companies across Italy, Switzerland, and the UK. Claris provides resources, capabilities, and connections to complete pre-clinical studies and run first-in-human (“FIH”) trials.
Evotec is already supporting Claris’s portfolio company IAMA Therapeutics (“IAMA”), a Genoese Biotech company focused on innovative medicines for brain disorders. Evotec has provided IAMA with pre-clinical services, including INDiGO, for IAMA’s fully owned lead programme IAMA-6, culminating in a successful Clinical Trial Application (“CTA”) in December 2023.
In January 2024, IAMA announced the first dosing in a Phase I first-in-human study, which is sponsored by IAMA and managed by Evotec. The study will investigate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and food effect of IAMA-6. Evotec also manufactures the drug substance and drug product at its Campus Levi-Montalcini in Verona, Italy.
Building on this success, the acceleration framework agreement now provides Claris’s other portfolio companies with easy access to Evotec’s full range of integrated services. Evotec will also support the successful progress of integrated programmes through a governance model.
Dr Matthias Evers, Chief Business Officer of Evotec, commented: “We are excited to enter this agreement with our partners at Claris. Streamlining the process to the clinic is one of the major efficiency unlocks of our fully integrated R&D platform. As Claris’s portfolio grows and matures, we look forward to the opportunity to provide further companies with simplified access to our full stack of services and to help deliver their potential to the fullest.”
Pietro Puglisi, Managing Partner at Claris, added: “We are pleased to embark on this strategic partnership with Evotec. The agreement enhances our ability to expedite the progression of our portfolio companies from discovery to clinical stages. Evotec’s integrated services have proven instrumental in advancing IAMA Therapeutics’ lead programme, IAMA-6, and we look forward to leveraging their expertise to further accelerate the development of transformative drug candidates within our expanding portfolio. This collaboration aligns with Claris’s commitment to fostering innovation and delivering impactful solutions to address unmet medical needs.”