Boehringer Ingelheim and Arena Pharmaceuticals ally on schizophrenia research

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced a new schizophrenia-focused research collaboration with Arena Pharmaceuticals.

The agreement will involve joint research to identify drug candidates targeting an undisclosed G protein-coupled receptor, combining Arena's established expertise in this area with Boehringer Ingelheim's global drug development capabilities.

Under the terms of the deal, Boehringer Ingelheim will gain exclusive rights to the internally-discovered novel compounds and intellectual property, with research to identify additional drug candidates suitable for continued development as therapeutic compounds for various disease indications to be conducted jointly.

Arena will be eligible to receive payments of up to $262 million (183.41 million pounds) in success-based milestones, as well as an upfront payment and research funding, plus royalties on future sales.

Clive Wood, corporate senior vice-president and head of discovery research at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "We believe that this alliance with Arena will allow us to deliver innovative new medicines for the treatment of patients with psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia."

This comes after the firm confirmed plans last month to expand its capabilities with the establishment of a new large-scale biopharmaceutical production facility at its existing site in Vienna.