Date: 2013-07-31
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: identification and optimization of novel macrocyclic drug candidates addressing therapeutic targets selected by Boehringer Ingelheim
Company: Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany) Polyphor (Switzerland)
Therapeutic area: undisclosed
Type agreement: R&D
licensing
Action mechanism:
Disease: undisclosed
Details: * On June 12, 2012, Polyphor, a Swiss, research-driven pharmaceutical company founded providing high quality drug discovery support to its pharmaceutical industry partners, has signed a research collaboration and license agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim, under which Polyphor will apply its proprietary MacroFinder® drug discovery technology to identify and optimize novel macrocyclic drug candidates addressing therapeutic targets selected by Boehringer Ingelheim. Polyphor’s MacroFinder® drug discovery platform provides synthetic, macrocyclic molecules able to effectively modulate complex biological targets, including intra- and extracellular protein-protein interactions. MacroFinder® compounds consist of several subunits, which can be efficiently assembled in a modular fashion by high yielding organic chemistry transformations. The variation of these subunits can be used to subtly modulate activity, selectivity and ADMET properties such as cell permeability and oral bioavailability. MacroFinder® therefore closes an important gap in the molecular diversity space of drug discovery.
In the collaboration, Polyphor will apply the MacroFinder® Technology to challenging therapeutic targets that would otherwise be difficult to address with classical small molecule drug discovery approaches. These difficult targets will include, among others, protein-protein interactions. The objective of the collaboration is to identify novel MacroFinder® drug candidates and to optimize their efficacy in vivo. Boehringer Ingelheim will then be solely responsible for subsequent development and commercialization of the identified drug candidates.
Financial terms: In return, Polyphor will receive from Boehringer Ingelheim an up-front payment, research funding and milestone payments as candidate molecules progress through the drug discovery process, preclinical and clinical development and onto the market. In addition, Polyphor is eligible for undisclosed royalties on the commercial sales of any approved products.
Latest news: * On July 31, 2013, Polyphor has announced that Boehringer Ingelheim has decided to enter into the next stage of its drug discovery collaboration with Polyphor. Following the successful hit identification phase, the parties have now agreed to move forward to generate candidates suitable for pre-clinical development.
