Evotec AG announced that two further research milestones, leading to total payments to Evotec of EUR 6.0 million, have been successfully achieved in its drug discovery collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim.

One milestone was achieved for the start of lead optimization for a specific target. This means that for the third time within this collaboration a programme has been advanced into lead optimization.

The second milestone was achieved in a separate programme for the selection of a compound by Boehringer Ingelheim for preclinical development. Boehringer Ingelheim will assume responsibility for the preclinical development of the candidate compound identified and Evotec will be entitled to receive additional milestones plus royalties depending on the compound's progress through clinical development.

Dr John Kemp, chief research & development officer at Evotec, commented, "We are very proud of the success achieved in our collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim during 2008. We have jointly progressed several projects and advanced the first compound into preclinical development. Further projects are progressing and we will continue to work closely with Boehringer Ingelheim to develop further preclinical development candidates within our collaborative projects."

In 2004, Evotec entered into a multi-year drug discovery collaboration to jointly identify and develop preclinical development candidates for the treatment of various diseases, including CNS related disorders. The agreement has been expanded and extended on two occasions since its initiation. Under the terms of the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim has full ownership and global responsibility for clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization of the compounds identified. In return, Evotec receives ongoing research payments and preclinical milestones. The milestones announced today are the fourth and fifth milestones achieved in the multi-target collaboration.

Additional milestones were achieved in June 2005, March 2006 and September 2008. Furthermore, the contract provides substantial long-term upside for Evotec through potential payments for successful milestone achievements during clinical development and royalties when new drugs reach the market.