Boehringer Ingelheim and Apexigen agree manufacturing alliance

Boehringer Ingelheim has allied with emerging biopharmaceutical company Apexigen on a new manufacturing partnership.

Under the terms of the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim will assist in the development of APX005, a humanised monoclonal antibody targeting CD40 for the treatment of cancers that has shown promise in preclinical trials.

It will provide Apexigen with cell line development using the high expression BI-HEX system, full process and method services, scale-up functions and clinical phase I supply.

Apexigen believes this new arrangement will help insure the success of this important developmental product.

Simon Sturge, Boehringer Ingelheim's senior vice-president for biopharmaceuticals, said: "This is an exciting project for Boehringer Ingelheim. We are confident that our cutting-edge production process technologies will advance Apexigen's robust clinical programme."

This comes after the company agreed to provide Molecular Partners with manufacturing support for its proprietary DARPin pipeline last month, as well as announcing a biopharmaceutical production technology alliance with BaroFold.