Boehringer Ingelheim has acquired California biotech Nerio Therapeutics, picking up a preclinical novel immune checkpoint inhibitor in what the drugmaker is calling a "significant step" for its immuno-oncology pipeline.
In a deal that Boehringer says is worth a total of $1.3 billion, the German drugmaker will secure the rights to Nerio’s small molecules, which inhibit the protein tyrosine phosphatases N1 and N2 (PTPN1 and PTPN2), which act as immune checkpoints. Through this mechanism, PTPN1/2 inhibition can activate the immune system to fight cancer cells.
According to Boehringer, the company aims to develop the program as a "potential key centerpiece component for its immuno-oncology portfolio" in order to improve cancer patient outcomes.
Boehringer Ingelheim laid out bold goals for the company in its 2023 earnings report, shared this past April, aiming for 25 new treatment launches by 2030. Back in June, the drugmaker revealed positive results from a phase 2 trial of survodutide, co-invented with Zealand Pharma, in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). The drug is being evaluated in five phase 3 trials for obesity, but the partners are betting on it becoming a best-in-class treatment for MASH/NASH.