Hamburg, Germany, March 19, 2026 – Evotec SE (NASDAQ: EVO; Frankfurt Prime Standard: EVT) today announced that its partner Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has initiated a Phase 1 clinical study evaluating CELMoD agent BMS-986506, a cereblon E3 ligase modulator, in clear cell renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer.
Initiation of the first‑in‑human study represents a significant advancement in the strategic protein degradation collaboration, bringing into the clinic a novel CELMoD or ‘molecular glue’ candidate jointly generated through Evotec’s powerful and fully integrated drug discovery platform. This platform combines high-performance multi-omics screening with AI-enabled data analytics and drug design capabilities, selectively prompting cancer cells to eliminate disease‑driving proteins. As a result of this clinical progression, Evotec will receive a milestone payment of $10 million.
Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec said, “In this unique collaboration, we follow a systematic approach to discovering molecular glues with tremendous therapeutic potential. Together with Bristol Myers Squibb, and building on Evotec’s PanOmics and PanHunter platforms, we have identified a broad portfolio of high-potential molecular glue drug candidates that are now beginning to enter clinical development. The initiation of this Phase 1 clinical trial marks the first clinical milestone in the strategic protein degradation partnership with BMS. Molecular glues have the potential to address significant unmet medical need not only in oncology, but far beyond, by targeting previously undruggable, disease-causing proteins and thereby aiming to reshape future standards of care.“
BMS-986506 was developed under the strategic protein degradation partnership between Evotec and Bristol Myers Squibb. The collaboration combines PanOmics, Evotec’s high-performance multi-omics screening platform as well as PanHunter, Evotec’s AI-supported data omics analytics platform with BMS’s industry-leading library of CELMoDs agents. Initiated in 2018 and expanded in 2022, the collaboration is continuing to deliver on its goal to identify novel molecular glue degraders for high-value targets in the field of oncology and beyond.
About Molecular Glue Degraders
Conventional small molecule therapeutics work via a drug-induced interference with a protein activity. This limitation to agonistic or antagonistic functions renders about 90 percent of proteins “undruggable”. Conventional small molecules only work while they are actively binding to the receptor, which typically requires a treatment regimen consisting of one or even several carefully dosed medications every day.
Molecular glue degraders are compounds that induce interactions between an E3 ubiquitin ligase and a molecular target. The induced interaction results in ubiquitination and degradation of the recruited protein. This event-driven mechanism of action significantly expands the range of the druggable proteome. The molecular glue is not degraded in the process and can trigger the degradation process many times over, thus leading to longer-lasting therapeutic effects.
About Evotec’s Strategic Collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb in Molecular Glues
In 2018, Evotec entered a long-term strategic drug discovery and development collaboration in the field of molecular glues with Celgene, now Bristol Myers Squibb. BMS is a leader in this field based on its unique library of CELMoDs agents. The collaboration aims to discover and develop a leading pipeline of molecular glue degraders for a range of therapeutic indications leveraging all of Evotec’s proprietary PanOmics and PanHunter platforms as well as AI/ML-based drug discovery and development capabilities.
Evotec applies high-end proteomics and transcriptomics at industrial scale to profile and select promising drug candidates based on comprehensive cell biological profiles. Evotec’s leading PanOmics screening capabilities are delivering unmatched throughput. The selection of the most promising candidates for drug development is facilitated by Evotec’s PanOmics data analysis platform PanHunter. It supports the integration and analysis of these data sets and thereby enables the selection of the most promising CELMoDs for further progression into lead optimization.
