Boehringer Ingelheim and Circuit Therapeutics ally on psychiatric research

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced a new research collaboration with Circuit Therapeutics in the field of psychiatric disorders.

The alliance will see Circuit Therapeutics provide an innovative platform that facilitates the identification and characterisation of drug targets from brain circuits involved in normal and pathological behaviors.

Its optogenetics technologies allow for control of individual nerve cells and circuits within the brain, enabling their functional identification and characterisation. Combined with molecular technologies, this will provide an unprecedented level of focus to identify novel drug targets and approaches for drug development.

The agreement will draw upon the research and development capabilities of both companies to open up new avenues for drug discovery via a three-year research programme. 

Dr Bernd Sommer, head of neuroscience research at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "By working together to investigate maladaptive brain circuitry with this exciting approach, we will be able to obtain a better understanding of the neurobiological basis of human neuropsychiatric disorders."

This comes after Boehringer Ingelheim allied with Lilly and the International Diabetes Federation to launch a major new survey to assess the quality of early treatment provided to type 2 diabetes patients.