Boehringer Ingelheim and Xencor enter into antibody licence

Bosses at Boehringer Ingelheim and Xencor have announced that they will jointly enter into a new antibody licence that will see the two companies collaborating on the development of monoclonal antibodies.

The firms will also enter a commercialisation agreement that will detail the commercial rights of each party for new antibodies that will be used in medical environments.

The exact financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, but it is thought that the deal will be worth a significant amount in the coming years, as Boehringer Ingelheim continues in its development strategy.

Under the new licence agreement Boehringer Ingelheim will utilise Xencor’s XmAb technology platform for development purposes, for which Xencor will receive upfront payment. In the future, Xencor will also be eligible for licence fees, milestones and royalty payments on Boehringer Ingelheim products that use Xencor technology.

In light of this agreement, both companies are optimistic that they will enjoy mutual shared benefits in the long-term.

“We are pleased to further enhance the value of our XmAb technology platform through this collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim and we look forward to working with our colleagues there to create novel biotherapeutics that work more effectively to address unmet medical needs,” commented Bassil Dahiyat, Xencor chief executive.

Boehringer Ingelheim recently entered into a partnership with Laureate Pharma, under which the latter company will gain access to the former’s manufacturing technology platform.