Evotec, a Germany-based drug discovery alliance and development partnership company, and Padlock Therapeutics, a private, Cambridge, Mass.-based biotechnology company dedicated to creating new medicines to treat destructive autoimmune diseases, have successfully completed an initial goal in a program focused on developing inhibitors of protein-arginine deiminases (PADs) and have further extended the collaboration that was first signed in January 2014.

The collaboration now extends through March 2017. Evotec provides a full range of research activities and experience to Padlock including in vitro biology, high-throughput screening, structural biology, medicinal and computational chemistry and DMPK. Over the next period, Evotec and Padlock will progress multiple programs through hit-to-lead and lead optimization with the goal of delivering multiple development candidates.

Evotec was awarded a success payment and equity grant in addition to research payments. In the next phase of this agreement, Evotec is eligible for over $13 million in research payments and milestones.

No further financial details have been disclosed.