Roche and Evotec to develop Alzheimer’s drug
pharmafile | September 6, 2011 | News story | | Alzheimer's disease, Evotec, Roche
Roche and Evotec are to collaborate on the development and commercialisation of Evotec’s MAO-B inhibitor in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease represents one of the greatest challenges for the pharmaceutical industry today, with many research teams trying to understand how the devastating progressive disease works, and how to stop it.
Swiss biotech company Evotec has a new approach to targeting the disease, but its compound EVT 302 is still only in pre-clinical development.
EVT 302 inhibits monoamine oxidase type B (MAO-B), an enzyme that breaks down the chemical messenger dopamine in the brain and contributes to the production of free radicals. Free radicals are known to cause oxidative stress which may contribute to pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).
High levels of MAO-B are found in the brain of AD patients, suggesting that a drug to block it could slow the progress of the disease.
Evotec will receive an upfront fee of $10 million from Roche, and could receive further development and commercial milestone payments of up to $820 million, as well as tiered double-digit royalties on sales. Roche will initiate studies in 2012 to demonstrate proof of concept and will be responsible for all clinical development, manufacturing and commercialisation activities.
The compound, which will be entering clinical studies in Alzheimer’s, was originally licensed from Roche to Evotec in 2006, and initially developed in another indication.
Commenting on the deal, Jean-Jacques Garaud, Head of Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, said: “Roche is committed to bringing innovative treatments to patients suffering from devastating neurodegenerative diseases, and is developing a number of approaches to tackle Alzheimer’s. The addition of EVT-302 to our CNS pipeline complements other approaches we are investigating including tau- and amyloid- targeted therapies.”
Dr Werner Lanthaler, chief executive of Evotec, said: “We are delighted to have Roche as our strategic partner to fight Alzheimer’s disease. Their outstanding commitment to pharmaceutical innovation makes Roche the ideal partner to fight one of the biggest healthcare problems of our times.”
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, affecting around 35 million people worldwide. During the course of the disease, protein plaques appear in the brain, leading to the death of brain cells. No single factor has been identified as the cause for Alzheimer’s disease.
Andrew McConaghie
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