Roche forms new alliance to develop CNS drugs

Roche and Evotec, a joint German-British pharmaceutical research and development company, have announced a new partnership to develop compounds for central nervous system (CNS) diseases.

The two companies will research and identify inhibitors that could combat these diseases, described by both companies as a “high priority”.

Roche and Evotec have existing partnerships for service agreements and in-licensing, but this latest agreement will involve a joint effort in developing one of Evotec’s existing CNS discovery projects. It has three phase I clinical trials in operation three drugs, of which two are for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and one for the treatment of insomnia.

Dr John Kemp, Evotec’s executive vice-president of research and development, remarked: “This collaboration capitalises on Evotec’s and Roche’s complementary drug discovery capabilities and underlines the value of our drug discovery platform and CNS expertise.”

“We are delighted to join forces with Roche, one of the world’s premier pharmaceutical companies, to discover novel drug candidates that will enrich our companies’ pipelines,” he added.

Dr Peter Hug, global head of pharma partnering at Roche, concluded: “Through the multiple dimensions of the Roche-Evotec relationship, we are endeavouring to develop compounds that will make a difference in patients’ lives.”

Evotec employs approximately 600 people at its sites in Hamburg, Oxford and Glasgow. Roche employs 1,800 staff in the UK, where its global product development team is based in Welyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. Its diagnostic sales and marketing team is based in Lewes, East Sussex.

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