Bayer has joined forces with Germany's Evotec on a new partnership aimed at a trio of new drugs for endometriosis. In the deal, Bayer is paying $15 million upfront with promises of up to about $750 million more for success. The plan is for investigators from both companies to contribute candidates to the program, sharing early-stage work with Bayer taking the lead on anything that goes up the R&D ladder. Endometriosis "is one of Bayer's strategic research indications and our new collaboration with Evotec will perfectly complement our activities in this field of high unmet medical need," said Andreas Busch, Bayer's head of global drug discovery. Evotec also stands to earn double-digit royalties on any products. Release