German drug developer Evotec signed a 5-year, $4.9 million agreement with the National Cancer Institute to help the group build and manage its library of potential oncology drugs.
Under the deal, Evotec will provide its compound management services to NCI's Chemical Biology Consortium, a gathering of researchers from government, industry and academia working to discover and develop new therapies. Evotec is on board to help the group keep its library of compounds in order, supporting a key element of the consortium's development platform.
Formed in 2009, NCI's biology project spans early-stage target identification to clinical development, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Evotec, which splits its business between CRO-style contracting and in-house R&D, has parlayed its compound library into a string of licensing deals. The company has ongoing relationships with Roche ($RHHBY), Sanofi ($SNY), Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) and others, plus agreements with nonprofit researchers and small biotechs.
In the first half of the year, Evotec grew its revenue by 37%, with its CRO division growing 49% over the same period in 2014 to offset a 5% decline in proprietary R&D cash.
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