Boehringer Ingelheim and Inflammasome Therapeutics Inc. (Inflammasome) today announced they have entered into a co-development and license agreement to develop up to three therapies for patients with retinal diseases. By combining Inflammasome’s unique intravitreal (IVT) drug delivery technologies with Boehringer Ingelheim’s compounds from its retinal disease pipeline portfolio, Boehringer Ingelheim aims to develop novel therapies for retinal diseases.

In 2019 there were an estimated 82 million patients in the seven key countries (U.S., Japan, Germany, U.K., Spain, Italy, France) affected by one of the three major forms of retinal disease: Age related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), and diabetic macular edema (DME). Globally, the prevalence rates of these and other retinal diseases are expected to increase over the next 10 years primarily due to aging populations and the global diabetes epidemic. Despite therapeutic advances in some disease areas during the past years, the real world results are poor, and there are no or only limited treatment options in many areas, resulting in an overall high unmet need. The collaboration between Boehringer Ingelheim and Inflammasome aims to address this challenge by using Inflammasome’s technology to deliver therapeutics in a biodegradable gel formulation into the eye.

“We are delighted to enter into a collaboration with a company of Boehringer Ingelheim’s stature,” said Paul Ashton, Chief Executive Officer of Inflammasome Therapeutics. “We look forward to working with their team to leverage our respective technologies and expertise to develop new therapies for devastating retinal diseases leading to blindness. This collaboration fits our strategy of advancing the company via both collaborations and internal development.”

“Boehringer Ingelheim is looking forward to developing Inflammasome’s novel technology for the delivery of our first-in- class retinal disease compounds working jointly with Inflammasome’s highly experienced scientific team,” said Clive R. Wood, PhD, Senior Corporate Vice President, Discovery Research at Boehringer Ingelheim. “This will enable us to develop a broad range of novel therapy options for the many patients with retinal diseases waiting urgently for better and new therapy options.”

Boehringer Ingelheim takes a holistic approach in the development of novel retinal disease therapies, targeting key mechanisms in the pathogenesis of retinal diseases. The company has built a comprehensive pipeline portfolio of next generation therapy approaches in various stages of development up to Phase 2 in macular degeneration, diabetic retinal diseases and beyond. Inflammasome’s novel delivery technology using a long-acting degradable IVT implant complements this portfolio.

Inflammasome is entitled to receive up to $160 million in up-front, research and development support and milestone gated development payments as well as tiered royalties based on future commercial sales of developed products and other milestones due on commercialization.