Boehringer Ingelheim is building on its collaboration with OSE Immunotherapeutics by investigating two clinical-stage oncology programs in cardio-renal-metabolic disease and adding a third preclinical cancer project through a separate asset purchase.
The German drugmaker is set to spend €25.3 million ($27.4 million) on a “partial royalty buy-out” of two anti-SIRPα assets partnered with OSE. The drugs, dubbed BI 765063 and BI 770371, are in Phase 1 solid tumor trials but will now also be investigated in cardio-renal-metabolic disease with a Phase 2 study planned for later in the year, Boehringer said in a release.
SIRPα is involved in the CD47 pathway, which is known to play a role in cancer. But some academics have found that both SIRPα and CD47 are also upregulated in the arteries of patients with atherosclerosis, while others have suggested ties to cardiomyopathy induced by chronic kidney disease.
There is also €13.5 million ($14.6 million) upfront at stake in the purchase of OSE’s preclinical cis-binding anti-PD-1/cytokine drug. The French biotech could get €17.5 million ($18.9 million) in a near-term milestone for the program. Cis-binding bispecific antibodies can target two antigens expressed on the same cell, triggering the activation of select immune cells, Boehringer said.
OSE shares $OSE shot up by 14% to €8.32 on the Paris exchange Wednesday morning.
The two companies originally teamed up in 2018 for an anti-SIRPα deal which featured $37 million in cash and near-term milestones and up to $1.35 billion in further milestones. Those milestones remain in place under the amended agreement, Boehringer said.
There have been some recent pharma moves in the SIRPα space, with Bristol Myers Squibb dropping development of its anti-SIRPα drug for solid and liquid tumors in April due to the “existing treatment landscape.” Exelixis entered the space in 2022 through a $40 million upfront deal for Sairopa’s preclinical antibody targeting SIRPα for cancer.
Boehringer has inked a spate of deals this year with an eye toward growing its pipeline across a variety of indications, including cancer, liver disease, schizophrenia and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. It is planning to launch 25 new medicines by 2030 in the areas of oncology, CNS, cardio-renal-metabolic and immunology.