Polyphor Ltd. and Boehringer Ingelheim have signed a research collaboration and license agreement, under which Polyphor will apply its MacroFinder drug discovery technology to identify and optimize macrocyclic drug candidates against targets selected by Boehringer. Polyphor will receive an up-front payment, research funding, and development milestones, and is eligible to receive royalties on sales.
 
Polyphor will apply the MacroFinder Technology to identify novel drug candidates and to optimize their efficacy in vivo. Boehringer will then be responsible for subsequent development and commercialization of any drug candidates.
 
Jean-Pierre Obrecht, chief executive officer of Polyphor, said, “I take pride in this agreement, which is testament to a trustful business relationship of more than 10 years. Boehringer Ingelheim has an excellent reputation in the industry and the conclusion of this agreement therefore constitutes both a scientific and commercial validation of the MacroFinder platform. This first MacroFinder collaboration complements the PEMfinder collaboration established with Novartis two years ago and underscores Polyphor’s role as an innovator in drug discovery.”