Evotec's Oncology Push Lands as Shares Hover Just Above Their Floor

The Hamburg-based drug discovery group is reaching for its science to steady a stock that keeps finding new lows. On Wednesday, Evotec announced a research tie-up with Plectonic, a biotech focused on logic-gated DNA-protein therapeutics, to develop a next generation of T-cell engaging therapies aimed at solid tumors — a category the partners say accounts for roughly 90 percent of all cancers.

The collaboration pairs two distinct platforms: Evotec's BiTco, built around CD2-bispecific antibodies, and Plectonic's LOGIBODY technology. Evotec's chief scientific officer, Dr. Cord Dohrmann, framed the work as tackling one of oncology's thornier challenges, noting that deploying T-cell engagers against solid tumors is particularly difficult precisely because of the broad applicability across most cancer types. Plectonic CEO Dr. Klaus Wagenbauer pointed to the modularity of his company's platform as a key advantage in the joint effort. The immediate goal is preclinical proof-of-concept data; neither financial terms nor a timeline for completing that work were disclosed.

The announcement lands against a bleak tape. Evotec shares climbed 4.8 percent on Wednesday to EUR 3.31, recovering from Tuesday's close of EUR 3.16 — a session that had marked a fresh 52-week low. That bounce, however, does little to alter the broader picture: the stock remains down 39 percent since the start of the year and 44 percent over the past twelve months. It sits roughly 5 percent above the recent trough of EUR 3.14 and a full 57 percent below the 52-week high of EUR 7.75 reached last November. Market capitalization stands at approximately EUR 577 million.

The technicals tell a story of persistent weakness, though readings vary depending on the window. The relative strength index sits near 41, suggesting neither oversold nor overbought conditions but pointing to flagging momentum. A 14-day RSI reading of 31, by contrast, hints at an oversold situation — without any visible stabilization having emerged. The gap to the 200-day moving average remains wide at 37 percent.

Investors weighing the Plectonic deal against the operational backdrop face a sobering set of fundamentals. Half-year results confirmed on the weekend just past showed revenue contracting 19.2 percent to EUR 300.1 million, while adjusted EBITDA swung to a loss of EUR 42.7 million — a sharp deterioration from the EUR 1.9 million deficit recorded in the prior-year period. Since those figures landed, the shares have shed another 6.1 percent.

Management is leaning on the Horizon program, a cost-saving initiative targeting EUR 75 million in annual reductions by the end of 2027, with 20 to 30 percent of that goal expected to be achieved by year-end. The company retains some breathing room: a net cash position of EUR 465.6 million at the end of the second quarter provides a buffer while Evotec works through the program and waits for a recovery in milestone payments, which management has cited as a factor in July's guidance cut.

Adding to the turbulence, Camilla Macapili Languille has resigned from the supervisory board, extending a run of governance changes that have occupied the company in recent months. That development compounds the sense of a group in transition, even as it tries to project operational continuity through partnerships like the one with Plectonic — and, earlier in the week, a separate AI-driven collaboration with Odyssey Therapeutics aimed at autoimmune and inflammatory disease research. Neither deal, on its own, moves the needle financially in the near term; both serve as signals that Evotec's pipeline retains substance even as its core business contracts.

The central question for shareholders remains whether operational steps — the cost cuts, the new collaborations, the pipeline expansion — can arrest a decline that has now stretched for months, before the next milestone payments come into view. For now, the science offers a reason for patience; the chart offers little evidence that patience is being rewarded.