Evotec has provided further updates to its “priority reset” as the CRDMO exits the gene therapy space and closes a site in Austria which would affect 40 staffers.
The German company said it will no longer offer services in gene therapy — its business arm dubbed Evotec GT — and will instead focus on its “core modalities,” according to a Wednesday press release. It expanded into gene therapy in April 2020, when it also partnered with Takeda for the pharma’s gene therapy approaches.
With its exit in gene therapy, Evotec is left with capabilities in biologics, drug products and API development and production, as well as drug discovery. The company also has two subsidiaries: Just – Evotec Biologics, which focuses on production of antibodies, biologics and biosimilars; and Cyprotex, which assesses the clinical efficacy and toxicology of a drug.
The company first announced its business restructuring last month to save more than €40 million ($43 million). At that time, it also named Christian Wojczewski as its new CEO, who will join the company in July. Wojczewski will replace interim CEO Mario Polywka, who took over in January after Werner Lanthaler resigned.
The gene therapy-focused Austrian facility in Orth an der Donau has capabilities in design and manufacturing of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for research and non-clinical applications, capsid engineering and genome editing, according to the company’s website.
Despite reporting a decrease in revenue for the first quarter of 2024, Evotec expects an uptick later this year as it forecasts double-digit percentage growth. “The strategic reset we announced last month has set us on a dynamic path back to sustainable profitable growth,” chief financial officer Laetitia Rouxel said in a statement.
In Q1, Evotec said it had an overall 2% decline in group revenue to €208.7 million ($226.3 million) compared with €213.6 million ($231.6 million) in the same time last year.