Roche, Evotec to develop biomarkers in oncology

MANILA, Philippines - Roche and Evotec AG recently announced a collaboration in novel protein-activity based biomarkers for Roche’s oncology drugs under development.

Evotec AG will employ its PhosphoScout platform to discover protein-phosphorylations that predict favorable dosage and efficacy of targeted cancer drugs in patients.

Roche will be responsible for conducting clinical trials as well as assessing the development of companion diagnostics for patient stratification.

“We are very pleased to collaborate with Evotec AG and benefit from the PhosphoScout technology to identify appropriate pharmacodynamics and patient stratification biomarkers,” said Mike Burgess, global head of oncology of Roche Pharma Research and Exploratory Development.

“These biomarkers are core to the development of targeted therapeutics for cancer therapy,” Burgess said.

“Biomarker-based personalized health care has led to a paradigm shift in cancer therapy,” said Dr. Werner Lanthaler, chief executive officer of Evotec AG.

“We are proud to partner Evotec’s novel biomarker concept with Roche, the world leading personalized health care company, and its Pharma Research and Development Organization,” Lanthaler said.

Under the initial three-year term, Roche and Evotec will conduct multiple biomarker programs for therapeutic antibodies or small molecule inhibitors.