- PMLiVE
Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) and Salipro Biotech have entered into a partnership aimed at accelerating the development of multiple drug targets.
The research and licence agreement will focus on advancing therapeutic solutions that target G protein-coupled receptors, ion channels, transporters and other integral membrane proteins in areas such as cardio-renal-metabolic diseases and mental health.
Over 60% of all current drugs interact with membrane proteins embedded in the lipid membrane. However, these proteins are inherently unstable and challenging to investigate.
The companies will use Salipro’s platform technology, which stabilises membrane proteins in their native forms, enabling them to be used in drug discovery programmes. BI will then conduct biophysical and structural studies on its pipeline targets enabled by the technology to identify potential therapeutic candidates.
In exchange, Salipro will receive undisclosed research and option payments, and will be eligible for success-based milestone payments based on developmental results produced by BI under the collaboration.
Salipro’s chief executive officer, Jens Frauenfeld, said: “We are excited to collaborate with the innovative teams at BI. By combining our Salipro platform technology with BI’s expertise in biophysical and structural studies, we enable new possibilities in drug discovery and development.”
The partnership comes two months after BI said it would be gaining access to Synaffix’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology through a licensing agreement worth over $1.3bn. The deal covers “an agreed but undisclosed number of targets” and it aimed at broadening the ADC portfolio of Boehringer’s subsidiary, NBE Therapeutics.
Lamine Mbow, global head of discovery research, BI, said at the time: “We are building a broad pipeline of ADCs addressing novel tumour target space to develop next-generation cancer treatments.
“By combining our… expertise in cancer treatment development with Synaffix’s clinical-stage platform technology, we aim to accelerate the delivery of first-in-class cancer treatments to improve cancer patient outcomes.”
BI also recently announced a new initiative aimed at detecting, diagnosing and treating chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the UK faster. The SPOT CKD (Screening, Prevention, Outreach and Treatment for Health Equity) initiative will seek to reduce health inequalities by improving early diagnosis and providing proactive care to slow the progression of the disease.