PureTech Health has announced a collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to advance immuno-oncology product candidates, using its lymphatic targeting platform.
The advanced biopharmaceutical company has entered into a research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to develop novel product candidates for an undisclosed number of targets, by leveraging PureTech’s proprietary lymphatic targeting technology for immune modulation.
PureTech Health will receive up to $26 million under the transaction, including upfront payments, research support, and preclinical milestones, and is eligible to receive more than $200 million in development and sales milestones.
The approach will harness the gut’s lipid transport mechanisms to enable oral administration and transport of drug candidates directly through the gut-draining lymphatic vasculature, initially focusing on applying PureTech’s lymphatic targeting technology to an immuno-oncology product candidate designated by Boehringer Ingelheim.
The collaboration “signals the exciting potential of another proprietary platform from our internal R&D to enable novel immunotherapy approaches by harnessing the lymphatic system’s capacity for immune cell trafficking and immunomodulation,” said Daphne Zohar, co-founder and chief executive officer of PureTech Health.
“We look forward to working with the excellent scientific teams at Boehringer Ingelheim’” she continued, “to advance this important program, which has the potential to greatly expand therapeutic options for patients with cancer.”
About 70% of immune cells reside in lymphatic tissues associated with the GI tract, so targeting immunomodulatory agents with this approach could potentially tune both systemic and local immunity.
Once the product candidates enter the development stage, Boehringer Ingelheim will assume full responsibility for development and PureTech Health will be eligible for various developmental and sales milestones in addition to royalties on product sales.
