Ablynx extends nanobody agreement with BI
Will receive additional research funding of €6.6m
Ablynx has announced a two-year extension to its five-year global strategic alliance with Boehringer Ingelheim to discover, develop and market up to 10 different nanobody therapeutics for a range of diseases including oncology, immunology and respiratory diseases.
The extension will allow all 10 nanobody projects to advance to a stage where Boehringer Ingelheim can potentially progress each into development.
Ablynx will receive €6.6m in additional research funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, some of which will be in advance. The firm has already received more than €58m since the alliance was signed in 2007. The agreement allows for potential milestone payments of up to €125m plus royalties to Ablynx for each nanobody that reaches the market.
Boehringer Ingelheim is exclusively responsible for the development, manufacturing and commercialisation of any products resulting from the collaboration. Ablynx retains certain co-promotion rights in Europe.
Dr Edwin Moses, chief executive and chairman of Ablynx, said: ‘As a result of this very successful collaboration, there are now two nanobody programmes in pre-clinical development and seven nanobodies at various stages in discovery across multiple disease areas.
‘In addition, as part of a separate collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim, there is a nanobody relevant in Alzheimer's disease also at the pre-clinical development stage. We are very pleased to have 11 nanobody programmes potentially able to make an important contribution to Boehringer Ingelheim's R&D pipeline.’
