The Hamburg-based biotech group Evotec is to develop prototypes for a drug against smallpox viruses for the Pentagon. It’s not the first order from the US Department of Defense: the last one revolved around the plague.
Hamburg-based drug researcher Evotec has landed another lucrative order from the US Department of Defense through its US subsidiary Just Evotec Biologics. This involves the rapid development of drug prototypes against orthopoxviruses.
The orthopoxviruses include monkeypox and cowpox viruses. While vaccines exist for some of these viruses, there is no approved antibody treatment for infections caused by these viruses. The order is valued at up to $74 million (€68 million). For comparison: This corresponds to around nine percent of the group-wide turnover in the entire past year (751.4 million euros).
For the Hamburg-based biotech company, this is the second order from the US Department of Defense within a few months. Just last September, Evotec received an order worth EUR 49.9 million as part of the accelerated antibody program for the development of drug prototypes against plague.
Evotec scores with its own technology platform
In both orders, the drug prototypes are to be based on so-called monoclonal antibodies. These are usually genetically modified antibodies that make it possible to target specific structures in the body. They can act as an active substance themselves – or as a vehicle for an active substance.
Evotec has been conducting its own antibody research for years and has a data-driven, highly automated technology platform that also uses artificial intelligence and machine learning. The aim is to develop biologics – i.e. biotechnologically produced drugs – as flexibly and efficiently as possible.
Money from Bill Gates for Covid research
The Hamburg company is no longer unknown in the USA. The Pentagon had already become aware of Evotec in the course of the corona pandemic, and 18.2 million dollars flowed to Hamburg in 2020. Evotec should use it to develop and manufacture monoclonal antibodies for the treatment and prevention of Covid-19. The MDAX company also received a cash injection from the foundation of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, but no information was given about the amount.
The Hamburg company has been working with the big names in the pharmaceutical industry such as Pfizer, Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb for years. Just a few days ago, Evotec received a milestone payment for the start of a phase I study of a Bayer program in the field of kidney diseases. In May, Evotec and the subsidiary Sandoz of the Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis also announced the start of a partnership for the development and subsequent production of several biopharmaceutical generic drugs, so-called biosimilars.
US plant increasingly busy
Production is scheduled to start in the next 12 to 18 months at Evotec’s US subsidiary’s newly built production facility (Jpod). Incidentally, the drug prototypes against plague and smallpox viruses are also to be manufactured there.
For Evotec, the increasing capacity utilization of the still young plant is a success, as CEO Werner Lanthaler advertised that biologics can be produced there extremely quickly and inexpensively. Initially there was still a problem with utilization, but now customer acquisition is slowly getting going. This is well received on the stock exchange, the Evotec share gains around three percent and is thus the biggest winner in the MDAX small-cap index.
With information from Angela Göpfert, ARD financial editors.