Boehringer Ingelheim announces ubiquitin signalling biology research alliance

Boehringer Ingelheim has established a research alliance with the University of Toronto that aims to identify and characterise new therapeutic targets in the field of ubiquitin biology.

The collaboration will also involve Toronto's University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital and will explore different therapeutic concepts and targets within the ubiquitin system, which is known to be an attractive and potentially rich source of drug targets.

Alterations of the ubiquitin system are linked to many common disease types, such as cancer, diabetes, inflammation and several central nervous system disorders.

The partners aim to provide novel starting points for drug discovery in a multi-year research programme, which focuses on the development and characterisation of novel ubiquitin binding variants.

Dr Michel Pairet, senior corporate vice-president of research and non-clinical development at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "We believe that this research program, headed by Sachdev Sidhu at the University of Toronto, will further strengthen our strong commitment in initiating new drug discovery programmes in areas of high unmet medical need."

Earlier this month, the company presented its biannual FENS Award – which honours outstanding research by young scientists in the field of neuroscience – to Judit Makara, a researcher based in Budapest.