Envisagenics’ platform makes use of AI to screen and detect cancer-specific RNA alterations, which Boehringer Ingelheim wants to target through various precision treatment modalities, including multi-specific antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates and T cell engagers.
Boehringer Ingelheim is partnering with Envisagenics to leverage the biotech’s AI-forward approach to RNA splicing—a particular molecular alteration in cancer that the companies claim is “one of the last largely untapped sources” of potential therapeutic targets.
The deal could put Boehringer on the hook for up to more than $1 billion, including an unspecified upfront commitment, research funding, option fees and development, regulatory and commercial milestones. New York–based Envisagenics is also eligible for royalties on product sales, according to a Tuesday announcement.
The alliance will build on Envisagenics’ previous work to identify cancer-specific RNA splicing events, validating their potential to be targeted using various modalities such as multi-specific antibodies, T cell engagers and antibody-drug conjugates. In an email to BioSpace, Envisagenics CEO Maria Pineda confirmed that the partners will “work closely” on target validation studies.
Boehringer will have the option to secure an exclusive license for certain targets and will “take the lead and full responsibility for modality selection, development and commercialization of the resulting therapeutic,” she continued.
Pineda noted that Boehringer is “focused on aggressive solid tumors with significant unmet need and limited treatment options.”
RNA splicing is a molecular process through which cells trim out non-coding stretches from mRNA molecules. In certain cancers, this process becomes dysregulated, leading to oncogenic mistakes that trigger uncontrolled division and proliferation.
Aside from Boehringer and Envisagenics, a growing number of biotech companies are looking to leverage these disease-associated splicing events to develop novel treatments for cancer. One such player is Skyhawk Therapeutics, which is working on small-molecule drugs that can target and modify disease-causing spliced RNA molecules.
The approach isn’t limited to cancer either. In August last year, Merck KGaA partnered with Skyhawk to advance these RNA modulators for unspecified neurological conditions. The German pharma has put over $2 billion in potential deal value on the line for the agreement.
Another company in this space is Rgenta Therapeutics, which is creating small-molecule glues that tag improperly spliced RNA for destruction. The biotech is leveraging this approach for cancer and disorders of the central nervous system.
