Roche, Evotec Agree To Phase II Devt For EVT101

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX) and Germany's Evotec AG (EVT.XE) have agreed on the Phase II clinical development of EVT 101, Evotec said Monday.

The potential value of transaction exceeds $300 million, Evotec said. EVT 101 targets treatment-resistant depression.

Evotec will be responsible for conducting Phase II studies for EVT 101, a compound originally discovered by Roche and developed from discovery stages through clinical studies by Evotec. Evotec will also conduct Phase I safety and tolerability studies for EVT 103, a next generation compound to EVT 101.

Roche has committed to fully fund these development programs. In addition, for the option to buy back rights to the entire EVT 100 family of compounds, Roche has agreed to pay Evotec an upfront fee of USD 10 million.

If Roche exercises its buy-back option after the completion of the Phase II study, Evotec will receive a USD 65 million lump-sum payment from Roche in exchange for returning the asset, as well as the entire EVT 100 family to Roche. Evotec would be eligible for further development, sales performance, and scalable double-digit commercial payments.

In the event that Roche decides not to exercise its buy-back option, Evotec will be granted exclusive worldwide rights to the entire EVT 100 family of compounds. Evotec will then get rights to all indications under revised terms from the original contract signed between Evotec and Roche at the end of 2003.

Website: www.evotec.com

-By Frankfurt Bureau; Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]