Evotec, a German drug discovery alliance and development partnership company, and Bayer have entered into a five-year, multi-target collaboration with the goal of developing three clinical candidates for the treatment of endometriosis.

Evotec will receive $15.4 million as an upfront payment. Evotec may also receive additional pre-clinical, clinical and sales milestones of potentially up to approximately $748 million, plus potential royalties of up to low double digit percent of net sales, depending on which party brought the compound to the collaboration and the successful development and approval of potential drug candidates. Bayer will be responsible for any subsequent clinical development and commercialization.

Both parties will contribute innovative drug targets and high quality technology infrastructures and will share the responsibility for early research and pre-clinical characterisation of potential clinical candidates in the disease area of endometriosis.

"Because endometriosis affects women in childbearing age, there is an incredible need for new, non-surgical treatments that will preserve fertility and alleviate pain,” said Werner Lanthaler, CEO of Evotec. “Evotec brings into this collaboration potential drug candidates and its extensive know-how in the area of chronic pain.”