The German drug group Boehringer Ingelheim has enlisted Danish biotech company Saniona to help it develop innovative treatment options for patients with schizophrenia through a new partnership.

This is according to a press release from Boehringer Ingelheim

The agreement gives Saniona an upfront payment of EUR 5 million, with up to EUR 85 million coming the biotech’s way through milestone payments. EUR 50 million of that is triggered by certain research, development and regulatory milestones, while EUR 35 million is tied to commercial milestones. Furthermore, Saniona is eligible to receive royalties on worldwide net sales of any resulting products under the collaboration, just as the biotech will receive undisclosed research funding during the joint research period.

Boehringer Ingelheim will receive exclusive worldwide rights to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize medicines identified through the collaboration.

The joint research activities aim to identify compounds that could be capable of restoring brain network activity in patients with schizophrenia. The program aligns with Boehringer Ingelheim’s drug discovery strategy for neuropsychiatric diseases which focuses on systematically investigating dominant symptom domains and the underlying neurobiology across mental disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and depression.

“We are delighted to have Boehringer Ingelheim as partner for our schizophrenia program. My team and I have worked in a long lasting partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim before and I can truly say that this is one of our preferred partners. We have a high respect for their diligent and result oriented R&D operations, their company values, and their effective and respectful collaborations with partners” says Jørgen Drejer, CEO of Saniona.

Saniona is probably best known for its work with diabetes 2 drug Tesomet and obesity drug tesofensine, but the company has been moving into the CNS field as well.

The company has previously teamed up with Upshur-Smith subsidiary Proximagen and signed a deal with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research to develop candidate drugs against Parkinson's disease.

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- translated by Martin Havtorn Petersen

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