Evotec and Medicines For Malaria Venture announce a long-term compound management collaboration
Evotec AG announced the start of a multi-year compound management agreement between Evotec (US) Inc. and Medicines for malaria Venture ("MMV") in support of MMV's Malaria and Pathogen Box initiatives.
These two initiatives are expected to revolutionise the field of drug discovery for malaria and neglected diseases.
The Malaria Box contains 400 diverse molecules active against blood stage P. falciparum malaria, available free of charge on request. To date, more than 160 boxes have been despatched to 27 countries catalysing numerous drug discovery programmes.
The Pathogen Box, based on a similar model to the Malaria Box, is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded in 2013. The 400 molecules currently being selected for this new box will be active not just against malaria, but against a range of neglected diseases. The Pathogen Box is expected to be available for distribution in 4Q 2015.
Researchers who receive these compounds free of charge are expected to share their findings and data with the research community via a scientific publication or the publicly accessible database ChEMBL.
In this collaboration, Evotec will leverage its industry-leading and long-standing compound management services to support MMV's efforts to establish, maintain and distribute vital research tools to the global malaria research community. Evotec delivers an industrialised, state-of-the-art and comprehensive compound management infrastructure to support all aspects of this collaboration.
Dr Mario Polywka, Chief Operating Officer of Evotec, commented: "We are pleased to partner with the Medicines for Malaria Venture and to support these important initiatives. We are confident that our team will provide high-quality services as required to support MMV, their investigators and ultimately patients."
Dr Tim Wells, Chief Scientific Officer of MMV, added: "Researchers are starved of access to promising molecules due to financial and technical barriers. MMV's Malaria and Pathogen Box initiatives aim to remove these barriers and suppliers like Evotec are critical to their success. We look forward to jointly ensuring robust compounds enter the R&D process and the best ones are developed into effective new medicines for vulnerable populations."
No financial details were disclosed.
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