On January 8, Just-Evotec Biologics, a Seattle-based subsidiary of Evotec SE, received a new grant from the Gates Foundation. The grant is designated for enabling global access to the company's biotherapeutics using Evotec Biologics' molecular design suite.
The funding also aims to improve development and reduce costs of monoclonal antibodies. The goal is to make them affordable and accessible for preventing infectious diseases in low and middle-income countries.
This grant follows recent reports that Evotec is positioned to benefit from Amgen's acquisition of Dark Blue. As an early collaborator and investor in the Oxford-based Dark Blue, Evotec is entitled to proceeds from the transaction, which has a potential value up to $840 million. The company has been involved in developing and expanding Dark Blue's technology platform and holds an equity stake of approximately 20%.
"Evotec welcomes Amgen's acquisition of Dark Blue Therapeutics – a company that originally emerged as a pre-seed project within LAB282, the first collaboration in Evotec's Academic BRIDGE portfolio," company spokesperson Dr. Sarah Fakir stated. "In line with our shareholding, we have received a portion of the fixed upfront payment and see potential additional upside linked to the achievement of defined development milestones."
Evotec SE is a global life sciences company that focuses on drug discovery and development, utilizing advanced science, technology, and AI to accelerate new medicine development for pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic sectors.