Evotec and Esperion Achieve Key Milestone with Preclinical Candidate for Rare Liver Disease Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis

Evotec and Esperion Achieve Key Milestone with Preclinical Candidate for Rare Liver Disease Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis

(IN BRIEF) Evotec SE has announced that Esperion Therapeutics has nominated an oral preclinical development candidate for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), marking a major milestone in their collaboration. The PDC, developed through Evotec’s integrated small molecule discovery platform and Esperion’s ACLY biology expertise, aims to address an unmet medical need in PSC, a rare and progressive liver disease with no curative treatment other than transplantation. Evotec will continue supporting the project through its accelerated IND-enabling platform, Evotec INDiGO, to advance the program toward clinical development. The milestone triggered an undisclosed payment to Evotec, further solidifying the partnership’s success in developing next-generation ACLY inhibitors with potential across multiple serious diseases.

(PRESS RELEASE) HAMBURG, 17-Oct-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Evotec SE has announced a key development milestone in its ongoing collaboration with Esperion Therapeutics, as Esperion has nominated an oral preclinical development candidate (PDC) for the treatment of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). This milestone reflects a major achievement in the partners’ joint efforts to explore innovative therapies targeting ATP citrate lyase (ACLY) biology, an area with significant therapeutic potential for multiple serious diseases. The PDC nomination also triggers an undisclosed payment to Evotec.

The candidate emerged from Evotec’s comprehensive small molecule discovery and development platform, combined with Esperion’s expertise in ACLY biology. Evotec’s fully integrated approach—spanning discovery to IND-enabling studies—played a central role in identifying and optimizing the new compound. The company will continue to support the next phase of development through its accelerated IND-enabling platform, Evotec INDiGO, designed to streamline the transition from discovery to clinical testing.

Dr. Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, stated: “The nomination of this preclinical development candidate marks a major milestone in our joint approach, combining deep scientific expertise with seamless operational execution. It is a key step toward clinical development and highlights the strength and efficiency of our collaboration. We are proud to contribute to the advancement of a program that has the potential to address a critical gap in current treatment options.”

Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a rare and progressive immune-mediated disease affecting the bile ducts, leading to inflammation, scarring, and narrowing that can cause biliary cirrhosis, portal hypertension, and ultimately liver failure. With no approved therapies to halt disease progression, PSC remains an area of urgent unmet medical need. Liver transplantation is currently the only long-term treatment, though recurrence occurs in up to 30% of patients.

This collaboration underscores Evotec’s position as a global leader in integrated R&D partnerships, leveraging its scientific depth and advanced development capabilities to accelerate the delivery of new treatments. For Esperion, the milestone strengthens its commitment to advancing novel ACLY-based therapies that may transform outcomes for patients with life-threatening diseases such as PSC.

About Esperion Therapeutics
Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing new medicines to market that address unmet needs of patients and healthcare professionals. The Company developed and is commercializing the only U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved oral, once-daily, non-statin medicines for patients who are at risk for cardiovascular disease and are struggling with elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). These medications are supported by the nearly 14,000 patient CLEAR Cardiovascular Outcomes Trial. Esperion continues to build on its success with its next generation program which is focused on developing ATP citrate lyase inhibitors (ACLYi). New insights into the structure and function of ACLYi fully enables rational drug design and the opportunity to develop highly potent and specific inhibitors with allosteric mechanisms.

Esperion continues to evolve into a leading global biopharmaceutical company through commercial execution, international partnerships and collaborations and advancement of its pre-clinical pipeline. For more information, visit esperion.com and follow Esperion on LinkedIn and X.

About Evotec SE
Evotec is a life science company that is pioneering the future of drug discovery and development. By integrating breakthrough science with AI-driven innovation and advanced technologies, we accelerate the journey from concept to cure — faster, smarter, and with greater precision.

Our expertise spans small molecules, biologics, cell therapies and associated modalities, supported by proprietary platforms such as Molecular Patient Databases, PanOmics and iPSC-based disease modeling.

With flexible partnering models tailored to our customers’ needs, we work with all Top 20 Pharma companies, over 800 biotechs, academic institutions, and healthcare stakeholders. Our offerings range from standalone services to fully integrated R&D programs and long-term strategic partnerships, combining scientific excellence with operational agility.

Through Just – Evotec Biologics, we redefine biologics development and manufacturing to improve accessibility and affordability.

With a strong portfolio of over 100 proprietary R&D assets, most of them being co-owned, we focus on key therapeutic areas including oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neurology, and immunology.

Evotec’s global team of more than 4,800 experts operates from sites in Europe and the U.S., offering complementary technologies and services as synergistic centers of excellence. Learn more at www.evotec.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X/Twitter @Evotec.

Forward-looking statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements concerning future events, including the proposed offering and listing of Evotec’s securities. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “should,” “target,” “would” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements include comments regarding Evotec’s expectations for revenues, Group EBITDA and unpartnered R&D expenses. These forward-looking statements are based on the information available to, and the expectations and assumptions deemed reasonable by Evotec at the time these statements were made. No assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates, which are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of Evotec. Evotec expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Evotec’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

For further information, please contact:

Media
Susanne Kreuter
VP Head of Strategic Marketing
Susanne.Kreuter@evotec.com

Investor Relations
Volker Braun
EVP Head of Global Investor Relations & ESG
Volker.Braun@evotec.com

SOURCE: Evotec