Evogene and Tel Aviv University's Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery Announce Joint Initiative to Accelerate AI-Driven Small-Molecule Drug Discovery
Supporting Israel's Academic Innovation Ecosystem: BCDD to Provide World-Class Experimental Infrastructure, Evogene to Deliver Computational Chemistry and AI Capabilities
REHOVOT, ISRAEL and TEL AVIV, ISRAEL, July 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Evogene Ltd. (Nasdaq: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN), a leading computational chemistry company focused on the generative design of small molecules for the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries, and the Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery (BCDD) at Tel Aviv University, today announced a strategic joint initiative aimed at accelerating the growth, development, and success of innovation originating from Israel's academic research ecosystem and focused on small-molecule drug discovery. This collaboration agreement was facilitated by Ramot, Tel Aviv University's tech transfer company.
The initiative is designed to support scientific entrepreneurs and research teams that possess deep biological understanding of novel disease targets but often face significant challenges in translating these discoveries into viable drug development programs. By combining BCDD's advanced experimental infrastructure and translational drug discovery capabilities with Evogene's AI-driven computational chemistry generative engine, ChemPass AI™, the collaboration seeks to create a powerful acceleration framework that bridges the gap between biological insight and drug candidate development.
Many promising academic discoveries fail to progress due to the lack of integrated capabilities required for early-stage drug discovery. This joint initiative directly addresses these challenges by providing entrepreneurs with access to both computational and experimental resources under a coordinated development framework.
At the heart of the collaboration is an integrated Design-Make-Test-Analyze (DMTA) workflow. Together, Evogene and the BCDD will identify and evaluate promising projects emerging from Israeli academic institutions and entrepreneurial ventures. Selected programs will benefit from Evogene's proprietary ChemPass AI™ generative engine and computational chemistry expertise for the design and optimization of novel small molecules, while the BCDD will provide experimental validation, screening capabilities, and translational development support through its state-of-the-art infrastructure. Together, driven by ChemPass AI™ this integrated workflow is designed to improve development efficiency, reduce early-stage risk and increase the likelihood of commercial success for emerging drug candidates.
Mr. Ofer Haviv, President and CEO of Evogene, said: "Israel's academic institutions generate world-class discoveries and novel therapeutic targets. However, many entrepreneurs and researchers face significant hurdles in transforming these scientific insights into viable drug development programs. Through this collaboration with the Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery, we are creating a unique framework that combines advanced AI-driven computational chemistry with world-class experimental validation capabilities. This collaboration represents an excellent way to broaden the pipeline of drug candidates developed by Evogene's unique technology. Researchers focused on biological targets, particularly molecular glues and complex proteins, and interested in identifying small-molecule therapeutics are invited to contact the Blavatnik Institute. We look forward to identifying suitable projects for potential joint support."
Leah Klapper, Managing Director of the Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery, said: "The Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery was established to advance pioneering medical research from the lab to patient treatment. Our mission has always been to bridge the gap between outstanding academic science and real-world therapeutic innovation. By partnering with Evogene, and leveraging their cutting-edge ChemPass AI™ engine, we can provide researchers and entrepreneurs with a comprehensive drug discovery pipeline. This platform uniquely combines deep biological expertise, experimental validation, and advanced computational chemistry. We believe this collaboration will significantly strengthen the ability of academic-originated ventures to translate breakthrough discoveries into successful therapeutic programs, ultimately improving patient outcomes."
About Evogene Ltd.
Evogene Ltd. (Nasdaq/TASE: EVGN) is a pioneering company in computational specializing in the generative design of small molecules for drug development and ag-chemical products. At the core of its technology is ChemPass AI™ a proprietary generative AI designed to explore vast chemical space and generate novel, highly potent small molecules optimized across multiple critical parameters. Built on this powerful technological foundation, and through strategic partnerships alongside internal product development, Evogene is focused on products for the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries, driven by the integration of scientific innovation with real-world industry needs.
For more information, please visit www.evogene.com.
About the Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery (BCDD)
The Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery at Tel Aviv University is a leading translational research center dedicated to advancing promising academic discoveries toward therapeutic development. The center provides state-of-the-art infrastructure, scientific expertise, and industry-oriented drug discovery capabilities that enable researchers to transform innovative biological insights into potential drug candidates.
About Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ramot is the tech transfer company of Tel Aviv University, managing the university's intellectual property to translate academic research into commercial products and startup companies. Ramot fosters strategic collaborations and licensing agreements, bridging the gap between scientific discoveries and global industries across a wide range of fields.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 relating to future events. These statements may be identified by words such as "may," "could," "expects," "hopes," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "scheduled," "estimates," "demonstrates", "designed to," "intended to," "with the goal of," or words of similar meaning. For example, Evogene uses forward-looking statements in this press release when it discusses: the collaboration success in creating viable drug development programs and drug candidate development, the success of the collaboration with accelerating development, reduce risk, and improving the probability of bringing impactful therapies to patients, the collaboration success with strengthening the ability of academic-originated ventures to translate breakthrough discoveries into successful therapeutic programs and ultimately improve patient outcomes. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions, describe opinions about future events, involve certain risks and uncertainties which are difficult to predict and are not guarantees of future performance. Therefore, actual future results, performance or achievements of Evogene and its subsidiaries may differ materially from what is expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of Evogene and its subsidiaries, including, without limitation, the aftermath of the recent war between Israel and each of (i) the terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, (ii) Iran, and (iii) other regional terrorist groups supported by Iran, and any potential destabilizations in Israel, neighboring territories or the Middle East region, and those risk factors contained in Evogene's reports filed with the applicable securities authority. In addition, Evogene and its subsidiaries rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties to conduct certain activities, such as their and pre-clinical studies, and if these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, comply with regulatory requirements or meet expected deadlines, Evogene and its subsidiaries may experience significant delays in the conduct of their activities. Evogene and its subsidiaries disclaim any obligation or commitment to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments or changes in expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions.
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