Evotec's loss is disappointing, but there is more in the locker

 Germany’s Evotec might have built a hugely successful fee-for-service drug discovery business, but getting a product to market – albeit via its vast network of partnerships – remains an elusive goal. Its most advanced hope was eliapixant, a chronic cough project partnered with Bayer, so investor disappointment was understandable when the pharma giant handed back rights. The project works similarly to Merck & Co’s gefapixant, which received a CRL last month, and it is not inconceivable that the events are related; the class has known toxicity issues that have made it tough to establish an acceptable risk/benefit profile. But Evotec's 14% share price drop, erasing almost $1bn from the group’s market cap, feels steep. True, other projects on which Evotec stands to benefit are much earlier, but it will have plenty of other shots on goal in the coming years. The company claims to co-own 130 assets, most of which are preclinical, but a couple of oncology projects that recently entered phase 1 are worth watching. It is also worth remembering that Evotec is profitable and has been for many years – an attribute that should not be dismissed as the biotech bear market growls on.

Moving through the clinic: Evotec's most advanced projects
Project	Description	Licensee	Details
Phase 2
EVT 201	GABA A receptor agonist; insomnia	Zhejiang Jingxin	Filing expected in China within next 18-24 months
Eliapixant (BAY1817080)	P2X3 antagonist; chronic cough	Bayer (WW)	Abandoned by Bayer Feb 2022 and all rights returned to Evotec
XP-105 (formerly BI 860585)	mTORC1/2 inhibitor; solid tumours	Xynomic	Originally developed under a collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim, which licensed the project out in 2018
Phase 1
EVT 401	P2X7 ion channel blocker; immunology and inflammation	Conba Group	Development appears restricted to China
BAY2328065	P2X3 antagonist; endometriosis	Bayer	Presumed handed back as part of eliapixant discontinuation, which saw Bayer return rights to all P2X3 assets
EXS21546	Undisclosed immuno-oncology mechanism, possibly targeting A2a	Exscientia	Ph1 development started 2021
CNTX 6016	Cannabinoid receptor 2 antagonist; pain	Centrexion	Ph1 trial started in 2021
EVT894	MAb against Chikungunya virus	None	In-house project? Ph 1 trial initiated by Evotec in 2021, clinical trial ID unknown
EVT801	VEGFr3 inhibitor; cancer	Kazia Therapeutics	Originally developed under a collaboration with Sanofi; licensed to Kazia in April 2021, ph1 under way
BAY2395840	Bradykinin B1 receptor antagonist; diabetic neuropathic pain.	Bayer (WW)	Ph1 trials about to commence
EVT8683	elF2b activator; neurodegeneration settings	Bristol Myers Squibb	Said to be in ph1, clinical trial ID unknown
Source: Company presentation, Evaluate Pharma. Note: list not exhaustive.  https://www.evaluate.com/vantage/articles/news/deals-snippets/evotecs-loss-disappointing-there-more-locker