Gilead and Boehringer Ingelheim agree licensing deal for HIV drugs

Gilead has entered into a licensing agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim, centring on promising investigational therapies for HIV.

The agreement will see Gilead gain exclusive worldwide rights for the research, development and commercialisation of novel non-catalytic site integrase inhibitors for HIV created by Boehringer Ingelheim.

Included in the deal is the lead compound BI 224436, which has already been assessed in a phase I dose escalation study to gauge its bioavailability and pharmacokinetics.

The arrangement will see Gilead pay Boehringer Ingelheim an upfront fee and milestone payments based on the achievement of predetermined clinical progress markers, as well as royalties on future product sales.

Dr Norbert Bischofberger, executive vice-president for research and development and chief scientific officer at Gilead Sciences, said: "The Boehringer Ingelheim compounds complement our internal discovery programs and the efforts are aligned with our commitment to continue to innovate in the field of HIV."

This comes after Gilead received a recommendation from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use last week for its latest HIV therapy Eviplera.