Boehringer Ingelheim and Inventiva Partner to Develop New Treatments for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Boehringer Ingelheim and Inventiva recently signed a new multi-year drug discovery and research partnership and licensing agreement. Research teams from both companies will jointly work to validate a new therapeutic concept with the purpose of finding novel therapies for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other fibrotic diseases.
The recently signed collaboration agreement will combine Inventiva’s knowledge and exclusive technologies in transcriptional regulation and fibrosis with Boehringer Ingelheim’s experience in drug discovery, as well as clinical development of new medicines.
The partnership is an example of what Boehringer Ingelheim describes as a growing emphasis on external innovation, and hopes to build on its trajectory record in the development of therapeutic agents from IPF. The company is responsible for the development of nintedanib, an anti-fibrotic drug for the treatment of IPF, marketed under the brand name OFEV®.
In the United States every year, approximately 50,000 individuals develop IPF. The disease is characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue, which can lead to a decrease of functional lung volume and oxygen uptake. The origin of IPF is not known, it affects mainly the elderly and has no cure. Many patients live for only 3 to 5 years after diagnosis if not submitted to a lung transplant. The main cause of death in IPF patients is respiratory failure.
“We are very proud to enter into this collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim, a company well-reputed for its excellent research and development skills in the field of fibrosis, and particularly Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis,” commented Inventiva’s co-founder and CSO, Pierre Broqua, in a press release. “We plan, alongside developing our own pipeline, on pursuing our strategy of establishing collaborative research partnerships with the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies. This new partnership further testifies to Inventiva’s expertise and contributes to strengthening our position as a leading and innovative actor in the field of fibrosis.”
“We are enthusiastic about this partnership and look forward to collaborating with Inventiva’s team to develop a potential new breakthrough therapy for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis,” added Clive R. Wood, PhD, Senior Corporate Vice President Discovery Research at Boehringer Ingelheim. “We are impressed by Inventiva’s research and drug discovery competencies and deep knowledge of the field. We firmly believe that joining forces with Inventiva will enable us to foster translation of an aspirational new therapeutic concept into eagerly awaited new therapies for patients.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Inventiva will receive upfront imbursement, and is qualified for research funding, development, regulatory and marketable milestone expenditures of up to €170 million, as well as tiered royalties on net trades of the products resultant from the collaboration.
