Agreements

Date: 2017-03-02

Type of information: Research agreement

Compound: small molecule inhibitors of oncogenic Ras

Company: Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany) Vanderbilt University (USA -TN)

Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology

Type agreement: research - R&D

Action mechanism:

Disease:

Details:

• On January 14, 2015, Boehringer Ingelheim announced that it has established a research alliance with Vanderbilt University and the cancer drug discovery laboratory of Professor Stephen W. Fesik, Ph.D., the Orrin H. Ingram, II Chair in Cancer Research and Professor of Biochemistry, Pharmacology, and Chemistry.
The aim of the new collaboration is the research and development of small molecule inhibitors of oncogenic Ras for the treatment of cancer. Ras is the most frequently mutated oncogene known in cancer with K-Ras being the most commonly mutated form occurring in pancreas, colon, biliary tract and lung adenocarcinomas. Mutations in the Ras family (comprised of H-Ras, N-Ras and K-Ras) are very common, and found in 20 to 30 percent of all human tumors.
Under the terms of the agreement, the research capabilities of Vanderbilt University and Boehringer Ingelheim will be brought together in a multi-year research programme focusing on the development of small molecule inhibitors of Ras. Further details of the agreement are not disclosed.

Financial terms:

Latest news:

• On March 2, 2017, Boehringer Ingelheim announced a new collaboration with Vanderbilt University. The multi-year program complements an already existing collaboration by focusing on the research and development of small molecule compounds targeting the protein SOS (Son Of Sevenless). This molecule activates KRAS. The collaboration combines research in the laboratory of Stephen W. Fesik and Orrin H. Ingram at Vanderbilt University, with the expertise and strength of Boehringer Ingelheim in drug discovery and clinical development.
The new collaboration adds to an ongoing joint project with Vanderbilt University initiated in 2015 that achieved two major milestones by identifying lead compounds that bind to KRAS with high affinities. These discoveries raise the prospect of developing novel cancer treatment options based on molecules that are able to block this critical cancer driver.