• Obesity is a complex disease and leading cause of morbidity and mortality and there are only insufficient treatment options available
  • New collaboration aims to develop novel peptide poly-agonists for the treatment of obesity and concomitant diseases
  • Gubra may receive up to EUR 240 million in upfront and success-based development and commercialization milestones plus staggered up to double-digit royalties on worldwide net sales

INGELHEIM, Germany & HØRSHOLM, Denmark I May 29, 2019 I Boehringer Ingelheim and Gubra announce a second collaboration and license agreement for the development of novel poly-agonist peptides to treat obesity. It will bring together Gubra’s established expertise in the design, synthesis, pharmaceutical characterization and in vivo testing of therapeutic peptides with Boehringer Ingelheim’s expertise in the research and development of innovative medicines in cardiometabolic diseases.

This second joint research and development program between Boehringer Ingelheim and Gubra builds on a successful ongoing collaboration in the obesity field, which was launched in 2017, and which has already achieved important milestones. It contributes to the growing Boehringer Ingelheim research and development stage portfolio in the obesity field.

“We look forward to expanding our productive collaboration with the Gubra team,” said Clive R. Wood, Ph.D., Corporate Senior Vice President Discovery Research at Boehringer Ingelheim. “I anticipate that these programs will help us bring much needed new treatment options for obesity patients.”

Boehringer Ingelheim has built a broad portfolio of marketed products for thromboembolic diseases, type 2 diabetes, acute stroke and myocardial infarction, hypertension and cardiovascular death risk reduction. With its extensive experience in the field and commitment to innovation, the company aims to transform the lives of people with cardiometabolic diseases.

Henrik Blou, CEO of Gubra said, “We are very pleased to enter into a second collaboration and license agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim focusing on the treatment of obesity. It is important for Gubra to find strong partners for our proprietary research programs, and our first collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim has shown that the strengths of both companies are nicely complementary. Joining forces on this novel research program has the potential to take obesity treatment to the next level to the benefit of patients around the world.”

About Boehringer Ingelheim
Improving the health of humans and animals is the goal of the research-driven pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. The focus in doing so is on diseases for which no satisfactory treatment option exists to date. The company therefore concentrates on developing innovative therapies that can extend patients’ lives. In animal health, Boehringer Ingelheim stands for advanced prevention.

Family-owned since it was established in 1885, Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the pharmaceutical industry’s top 20 companies. Some 50,000 employees create value through innovation daily for the three business areas human pharmaceuticals, animal health and biopharmaceuticals. In 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of around 17.5 billion euros. R&D expenditure of almost 3.2 billion euros, corresponded to 18.1 per cent of net sales.

As a family-owned company, Boehringer Ingelheim plans in generations and focuses on long-term success. The company therefore aims at organic growth from its own resources with simultaneous openness to partnerships and strategic alliances in research. In everything it does, Boehringer Ingelheim naturally adopts responsibility towards mankind and the environment.

More information about Boehringer Ingelheim can be found on www.boehringer-ingelheim.com or in our annual report: http://annualreport.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

About Gubra
Founded in 2008, Gubra is a privately-held biotech company located in Denmark delivering scientific counselling, contract research services, and projects for co-development in four main focus areas: Obesity, diabetes, NASH and diabetic complications. Gubra experts covers a number of pre-clinical disciplines:  in vivo pharmacology, peptide chemistry, molecular pharmacology, histology, 3D imaging, stereology, NGS (next generation sequencing), bioinformatics and ex vivo assays. Gubra has a hybrid business model with a pipeline of early target and drug discovery programs aimed for partnering while also delivering preclinical services to customers by combining cutting-edge technology with our accumulated experience and proven methodology. Gubra is an abbreviation for GUt and BRAin, the original key focus areas of research and expertise. For more information, please visit our website at www.gubra.dk (link is external).

SOURCE: Boehringer Ingelheim