Boehringer Ingelheim Signs Billion-Dollar-Scale Oncology Collaboration With AI Drug Developer

German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has signed a multiyear oncology collaboration agreement with U.S. AI drug developer Envisagenics worth up to $1 billion (approximately 1.34 trillion won).

According to Fierce Biotech on the 22nd (local time), Boehringer Ingelheim will use Envisagenics’ artificial intelligence (AI) platform, SpliceCore, to validate tumor-specific targets.

SpliceCore uses AI and large-scale transcriptomic data to analyze more than 14 million splicing variants and prioritize promising targets. It also predicts disease specificity, patient prevalence and therapeutic suitability.

The technology is designed to distinguish cancer cells from normal tissue by leveraging alternative RNA splicing and to focus on targets with high tumor specificity. Through this approach, Boehringer Ingelheim can validate the therapeutic potential of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), T-cell engager antibodies and multispecific antibodies.

Maria Pineda, CEO of Envisagenics, told Fierce Biotech that “protein isoforms found only in tumors are barely expressed in normal tissue, which can reduce the risk of adverse effects and expand the therapeutic window.”

Under the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim secured an option to exclusively license selected targets. Envisagenics plans to use upfront payments and milestone payments from the agreement to advance its central nervous system (CNS) candidates into clinical development.

Envisagenics previously entered into SpliceCore-based oncology collaborations with Bristol Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson and Biogen. The company’s core technology was developed in the laboratory where the research that led to the spinal muscular atrophy treatment Spinraza was conducted.

Mark Petronczky, head of oncology research at Boehringer Ingelheim, said, “Alternative RNA splicing provides access to a target space that remains largely unexplored.”

Envisagenics plans to invest the funds secured through the collaboration in further developing its platform and advancing its proprietary pipeline. Pineda said the funding would help the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) candidate ENV-375 enter clinical development.